


Sleeping Stag

by TriDogMom



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Albus Dumbledore Bashing, F/M, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-22
Updated: 2020-09-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:15:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 44,847
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22841605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TriDogMom/pseuds/TriDogMom
Summary: What if James Potter was never killed on Halloween in 1981 but the world was tricked by Dumbledore instead?
Relationships: Hermione Granger/James Potter
Comments: 434
Kudos: 658
Collections: Love Fest 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MegRaven](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegRaven/gifts), [dreamsofdramione](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamsofdramione/gifts).



> Previously called **Gods-damned mother fucking Albus Dumbledore!**  
>  Title changed and chapter 1 edited as of June 2020 and more chapters coming soon!! Rating changed from M to E for future content.

“Gods-damned mother fucking Albus Dumbledore!” James Potter muttered as he took in the date on the paper before him on the Headmaster’s desk. 

**_02 May 1998_ **

The last time he had read the Daily Prophet it had been the morning of Halloween in 1981. 

* * *

He had been in hiding with Lily and Harry when Dumbledore—one of the only people who was privy to their Secret Kept location—had come to visit. Leaving Lily to watch Harry play on his toy broomstick, the two wizards had disillusioned themselves and walked down the lane to Bathilda Bagshot’s house and entered her back garden. James had been confused when he saw John Smith, member of the Order of the Phoenix that was about a hundred and twenty, standing there, but trusted Dumbledore completely so didn’t ask questions. 

The next thing he knew, Dumbledore had shot a Full Body-Bind Curse at him, causing him to fall onto his back. James had been forced to listen as his trusted mentor explained to John the way to take Polyjuice potion and the answers to the security questions he and Lily had set up to verify their identities. James wanted to holler in pain as Dumbledore reached down and pulled a handful of hair from his head. 

He watched in horror as John added them to a large flask before taking a drink and doubling over in pain as his body morphed from his hunched over, age spotted, balding self, into the perfect image of James—messy black hair and all. A few spells later, and John’s clothes had been transfigured by Dumbledore to match James’. There was nothing he could do but wait as the two men left the garden. 

What felt like an hour later, but may had only been a few minutes, he was prevented from yelling out in pain as Dumbledore—biggest fucking wanker in the world—walked back into the garden, stopping only when he had trod on James’ still disillusioned arm. 

“Sorry about that,” Dumbledore said, stepping back and grinning. “Didn’t see you there.”

James had never understood until that moment what it meant to truly hate someone. Hate them so much that he would be able to cast _Avada_ and be happy when it worked. Aurors were taught to use the curse, had to practice it on training dummies, but his curses had always been weak. He didn’t have the hate in his heart needed to power the spell—even when thinking about Snivellus. Dumbledore had changed that the moment he tricked James this afternoon. 

“Voldemort will attack your family tonight,” Drumbledore explained, his voice devoid of the emotion it should have when talking about a family being murdered. “I know it probably sounds cruel to you, but it has to happen. The only way to get rid of him is if the prophecy is fulfilled.”

_Prophecy? What prophecy?_

“He will try to kill Harry, but don’t worry, your son will live.”

 _A mad man is going to try to kill my son and you tell me not to_ worry _? You’re crazier than I thought!_

“Lily will have to die though.” He shrugged. The fucker _shrugged_. “The only way to win the war is if she sacrifices her life for Harry.”

_Lily is going to die? My Lily? The woman I have loved since the first moment I saw her on the Hogwarts Express?_

“But Harry will be safe. He will go to live with Petunia and her husband. They will raise him until it is time for him to go to Hogwarts.”

_Petunia? Why in the hell would that frigid bitch raise Harry? What are you going to do to me? And why can’t he go live with Sirius—his godfather—, or Remus! I would say Peter, but I don’t think he is ready to be a parent._

“I know you hate her, but that is what Harry will need. To be raised by people who will teach him to be humble. Merlin knows _you_ never were.”

_To be humble? What are they going to do to him? Petunia’s husband has more pride than the entire Black family._

“I just need everyone to think you are dead for a bit. But once Voldemort is killed for good, you will be good as new.”

 _Dead for a bit? And just how are you going to manage that?_ A light bulb went off in James’ head. _That is what the Polyjuice was for. That man is going to get killed in his place._

“I invented a potion from the Philosopher's Stone with Nicolas Flamel. It will put you into a sort of animated suspension. You won’t age or die, or even get sick. Once Voldemort is gone for good, you will be good as new. It shouldn’t take me more than a few weeks to figure it out. I am quite brilliant.” The fucker smiled to himself as he took a sweet from his pocket and popped it in his mouth. “I’ve arranged a room for you at Hogwarts so I can make sure you’re safe.”

  
  


* * *

Even though that encounter seemed like a few minutes ago, it had been sixteen years. James had spent the time completely unaware of his surroundings. He had woken up and looked out the small window in his room a little after dawn. It had taken him until the sun was high in the sky to find the loose brick in the wall that allowed him to leave his prison. 

He had been afraid he would have no muscle mass after being asleep for that long, but when he took his first step, he noticed everything was in the same working order it had been before. He still had the small bruise on his wand hand from where Harry had bit him the night before Dumbledore arrived. James walked down a flight of stairs and found himself coming out of a hidden wall behind the Headmaster’s desk. He had no way of knowing how much time had passed until he glanced at the paper on the desk before him. 

  
  


**Voldemort is dead!**

**Harry Potter triumphs!**

  
  


Harry Potter? His little Harry? But the picture in the paper showed, not his infant son, but a grown man with looks similar to his. James fell back into the desk’s chair as he realised he and his son were less than four years apart in age. Dumbledore said he wouldn’t age, which meant he was still twenty-one and Harry would be seventeen, almost eighteen by now. 

James devoured the paper, learning everything he could. The entire edition, thicker than he ever remembered, was filled with stories of what had happened since the night Voldemort had attacked their house in Godric’s Hollow all those years ago. 

There was an old interview that Harry had given, begging the world to believe him that Voldemort was back a whole year before Fudge would admit it. _The man always was an idiot._

Reading the article of Dumbledore’s death felt bittersweet. Right now he wanted to kill the son of a bludger, but before he had cursed James and left Lily to die, James had respected him. Shock coursed through him when he read Severus Snape had killed him. _Guess I owe Snivillus my thanks._

Four pages summarised details of the battle that had taken place the night before. James didn’t try to stop the tears as he saw Remus Lupin’s name listed among the fatalities. They had almost stopped until he read that Sirius had died two years before. He had to restrain himself from setting the entire room on fire as he read about his best friend — his brother— serving time in prison for a crime Dumbledore _knew_ he didn’t commit. He also felt angry that someone had already killed the traitorous bastard Peter.

He pushed the thoughts of Peter away as he saw his own name listed along with Lily’s as the reason Voldemort ‘died’ the first time. He gave himself over to the pain of losing his love. His heart felt as if it would fall out of his chest as he realised he would never see her again. He pulled his wand from his pocket and pressed it against his temple. 

James closed his eyes and let the anger of Peter’s betrayal, the deaths of his wife, brother, and best friend fill his mind. He remembered the way he felt when Dumbledore hexed him. Taking a deep breath, he readied himself to cast the Killing Curse; the only thing that would bring him relief. He had nothing to live for anymore. He opened his eyes, and was halfway through the first word when his eyes fell to the still open paper. 

There was his reason to live. Harry, smiling up at him from multiple pictures on the page. James opened his hand, allowing his wand to drop onto the desk. His eyes took a long time to leave the pictures of Harry, normally surrounded by the same two people, another young man, and a beautiful witch. 

_Harry! I have to see Harry._

* * *

  
  


The door to the office opened, and James grabbed his wand again, casting a _Protego_ seconds before two stunners came flying towards his face as two people entered.

“Wait!” he yelled, keeping his shield up, but raising one hand towards them. 

“Who are you? How did you get in here?” the woman shouted at him. It took James a moment to see past the extra lines on her face and grey in her hair. 

“Minnie? It’s me, James Potter.”

“James Potter has been dead for over fifteen years,” Professor McGonagall spat. “Who are you?”

“I promise, it’s me. Dumbledore cursed me so I wouldn’t wake until after Voldemort died.”

“What is something only James would know?” the black skinned man that James thought looked familiar but couldn’t place standing behind her asked in a deep voice. Minerva turned to James, her eyebrow raised in question.

“In my seventh year I came to your office drunk, called you Mummy and asked for a spanking,” James said quickly and smirked as Minerva’s face turned red. “Sirius was with me and we had detention with Professor Kettleburn for a week, mucking Hippogriff shit out of the stables.”

“I should have spanked you for all the good shoveling manure did you,” Minvera muttered. “There has to be another way to check.”

“I understand. I will take Veritaserum, anything. I just want to see Harry.”

“Floppy!” Minerva called and an old house-elf popped into the room.

“What is you doings out of bed?” the elf’s high voice called. “Master Dumby is saying you are not to be waked.” 

“Floppy, do you know who that is and why he is here?” Minerva asked. 

“I is keeping Master Dumby’s secrets. He is putting hims to sleep.”

“Who was put to sleep, Floppy?”

“Him,” she pointed at James. “Master Dumby is saying that young Potter is need to be with Muggles so he is putting other Potter to sleep. Master Dumby be asking Floppy to check on him. I be changing his sheets.”

“When did this happen?” the man asked.

“Long times ago. Same night Harry Potter is killing the evil man the first times.”

“Thank you for your help, Floppy,” James said. 

“Floppy, I need Veritaserum from Headmaster Snape’s stores. Please bring me some.”

They waited as the elf popped out of the room, then reappeared holding a small bottle of clear liquid. She bowed to them before popping out of the room again. 

“Shouldn’t Harry be here for this?” James asked. 

“I need to make sure it is you before I get his hopes up,” Minerva spoke quietly before clearing her throat. “Set your wand down and kick it away from you. I am not taking any chances.”

James watched as Minerva pocketed her own wand and the black man did the same. Dropping his shield, he set his wand on the ground and kicked it towards the man who picked it up. James watched as Minerva conjured a cup of tea before dripping three drops of the potion into it and handing it to him. James used his tongue to test the temperature before drinking it all in three gulps. 

“Do you know where you are?” Minerva asked.

“Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Headmaster’s office, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe, Planet Earth,” James said.

“Still a cocky bastard then,” the other man’s deep voice said with a chuckle.

“Do you know who we are?”

“You are Minerva ‘Minnie’ McGonagall, my favourite professor. The man looks familiar, but I can’t remember his name.”

“This is Kingsley Shacklebolt. Acting Minister for Magic.”

“I can’t believe you forgot me, Potter. We went through Auror training together,” Kingsley said. 

“Well, fuck me. You got old,” James said. 

“Not all of us can live for sixteen years and not age.”

“What is your name?” Minerva continued with her questions.

“James Fleamont Potter.”

“Who were your parents?”

“Fleamont and Euphemia Potter. But our friends called them Flea and Mia.”

“What is your animagus form?”

“Oh shit, you know about that?”

“Yes, I know about it. Now what form is it?”

“A stag.”

“What was your nickname in school?”

“Prongs.”

“What is your son’s name?”

“Harry James Potter.”

“Where was he born?”

“Harry,” James began. He could feel the potion wearing off but smiled at this question because it was something only a few people knew, “was born in a little cottage in the Scottish Highlands. Lily and I were visiting our favourite professor. When said professor admitted to an affair with a well known International Quidditch player, Lily went into labour. Harry was delivered by Madame Pomfrey on your bed, Minerva. Lily and I sent you new sheets as an apology.”

“You’re really alive?” Minerva asked, tears in her eyes. She moved towards him before throwing her arms around his shoulders. “I can’t believe you’re actually alive! I am so happy to see you.”

“Happy enough to give me that spanking, Minny?”

“Oh, you!” Minerva said through her tears as she pulled back from him. She placed her hand on his cheek. “I’m glad you’re back. You keep me young.”

“Welcome back, James,” Kingsley said, smiling. 

“Thanks.” James moved towards Kingsley and wrapped his old friend in a hug. “It’s good to see you. Minister, eh? Must be slim pickings if they let you be in charge.”

“There is a lot of work to be done, but I am up to the task until there is an official election held.”

“Can I see Harry now?” James asked. 

“He just went up to Gryffindor tower to sleep before we came up here,” Minerva explained. “In case you didn’t see, he and his friends broke into a bank yesterday morning, before coming here and killing Voldemort. Needless to say, the boy will be asleep for a while.”

“Is there anything I can help with while we wait for him to wake up?”

“The castle will need a lot of work, and most of us are tired. Any help you can give restoring the castle would be wonderful.” Minerva paused. “Would it be okay if I change your appearance until it is time to see Harry?”

“Only if you promise to make me look like your lover,” James said with a wink. 

* * *

James smiled as he caught a look of himself in the broken window before him. Instead of making him look like her long ago lover, Minerva had disguised him to look like an old Scottish man. He had long, wiry grey hair, a pudgy stomach, and was dressed in a dark grey and blue kilt. Cheeky witch had vanished his shorts and told him he needed ‘to look traditional’. 

James had started his restoration work by going to the dungeons, thinking he would work his way from bottom to top. There was no damage this far down and he hoped there would be more places in the castle that had escaped the ravishes of war. The ground floor was already being worked on by large groups of people so he slowly made his way up the stairs, continuing on as he saw people fixing each floor. Finally, she made his way to the fifth floor before finding a corridor that was empty but in need of repairs.

The work repairing the castle wasn’t too hard. The damage caused by normal hexes and curses were easily fixed with a _Reparo._ The areas that were damaged by dark magic would take a lot more work, and while James was trained on how to do it, he focused on taking care of all the easy fixes first, in case he needed assistance on the other areas. Some dark magic took two or more people to remove before the damage could be reversed. 

He was watching part of the wall repair itself when the door next to him opened and he swung his arm around, jabbing his wand under the girl’s chin. He felt a sharp sting as her wordless hex hit him in the arse. 

“Fuck!” James yelped. 

“Move your wand, or the next one is a slicing hex to your bollocks,” she growled.

James pulled his wand back quickly; death was preferable to being an eunuch. He turned and his stomach dropped. He was staring into the eyes of the most beautiful human he had ever seen. Nothing in the world mattered but the goddess in front of him. 

He felt his magic in a tangible way he had never felt before. James watched in amazement as it seemed to leave his body; a red shimmering mist that hovered between them. The woman’s eyes were wide as his magic mixed with the blue haze that had left her. The two clouds turned a bright purple before splitting and he felt a new kind of magic enter his body. 

“Who are you?” James asked. 

“Hermione Granger. And unless I’m mistaken, I’m your soulmate.”


	2. Chapter 2

"Soulmate?" James asked. "Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure," Hermione said. "Unless your magic normally leaves your body to intertwine with someone else's when you first meet them."

"Not that I've noticed."

"I'm pretty sure you'd notice." Hermione looked him up and down, her face pensive. "The fates seem to have a sense of humor. How old are you anyway?"

"Twenty-one."

"Sure, and I'm Posh Spice."

"Who?" James asked, nonplussed.

He wondered if Hermione was Muggleborn. Lily was always mentioning people he had never heard of that were famous in the Muggle world. _Lily_. How could he have forgotten about Lily? She was the love of his life. He had fallen in love with her the first moment he saw her and didn't stop chasing her until she finally agreed to go out with him seven years later. Yet the second he laid eyes on Hermione, he had shoved his wife from his mind.

But she wasn't his wife anymore. Whilst it seemed like only a few hours that he had seen her, Lily had been dead for over sixteen years. Just a little while ago, he had been crushed to learn that she was dead, and now he was looking at this girl, Hermione, and his _soul_ was saying they were meant to be together.

"Sorry, Muggle reference," Hermione answered, pulling him from his thoughts. "You never did tell me your name."

"My name. Uh… It's James. I… I gotta go." James tripped over his words as his mind raced with thoughts of Lily but his magic tried to pull him towards Hermione.

Turning on the spot, he started to run. He heard her yelling for him to stop and come back, but he ignored her. Using the secret passageways of the castle he had learned in his youth, he left her behind as he made his way back to the Headmaster's office. He didn't have the capacity to deal with a soulmate right now. He needed to find Harry and reunite with his son. If this Hermione Granger really was his soulmate, they would find their way to each other somehow.

* * *

"So you met this random old man after taking a bath?" Harry asked, clearly confused. "And your magic and his… what? Air fucked or something? And then new magic entered you? Are you sure you weren't just _really_ tired Mi? Like having a dream while you were awake?"

"I'm not _that_ tired, Harry," Hermione said, exasperated. "I slept for a few hours before I made my way to the Prefect's bathroom then took a Pepper-Up before I went into the hallway because I knew we would have a lot to do today."

"Maybe you got a bad batch?" Ron asked. "Like that LDS stuff you said Muggles like to take."

"LSD, Ron," Harry corrected.

"I'm sure she wasn't drugged," Gin said, helpfully. "What I want to know is why your soulmate would be an old Scottish guy. Why wouldn't it have been someone young and good looking. Like Blaise Zabini."

"You think Zabini is good looking!"

"Yes, I do. But I love you, so you don't have to worry."

Hermione laughed at the interaction between Ginny and Harry. As soon as they had walked into Gryffindor tower this morning, the two of them were attached at the hips, and unless talking to others, the lips as well. It filled her with joy to know her best friend and Ginny still loved each other after so long apart. Ron was looking at Harry and Ginny with a look that was a mix of jealousy and disgust. He had confided to Hermione that he didn't understand what Harry saw in his 'scrawny, bossy, annoying little sister'.

Ron had taken the news of her finding a soulmate, if that is what James was, relatively well. They had kissed during the battle, but while sitting around afterwards, Ron had sheepishly told her that—even though he'd had a crush on her for years—kissing her was what he assumed kissing Ginny would be like and he never wanted to do it again. Hermione was quick to agree with him. That kiss had reminded her a lot of the time she played Spin the Bottle with her Muggle friends and it had landed on her cousin. No thank you.

"Your magic has changed colours," Luna said from where she was sitting on the floor. "It's purple now. It was always blue before. But I don't think the man was old. The magic mixed with yours has a young feel to it."

"What?" they all asked in unison.

"Can't you guys see and feel each other's magic?"

"Luna," Hermione said, "being able to see magic is a rare gift. I didn't realise you were able to."

"I can see magic in _everything_. It's beautiful. Harry's magic used to look different too."

"You think I have a soulmate?" Harry asked quickly, as if he was afraid Ginny wasn't meant for him.

"No," Luna said. "Most people don't have one like Hermione does. Before, your magic was as green as your eyes, but with streaks of a sickly yellow throughout. Once you came back from the forest with Voldemort, you no longer had the streaks."

"What colour are our magics, Luna?" Ginny asked.

"Ron's is bright orange, like the Chudley Cannons. Ginny, yours as silver as the moon in wintertime. Mine is flamingo pink. Except when I'm angry, then it's darker. Neville's used to be a bronze, but over the years it changed to a golden colour once he started standing up for himself."

"Where is Neville?" Hermione looked around the room. She had expected him to be here with them.

"He took his grandmother home. She said she was too old to be climbing all the stairs here."

"Are you two together now?"

"No. I love Neville, but he's not mine. My person is out there, waiting for me. I think in America, but I'm not sure. I'll know when I see him."

"I have no idea how I will ever find that man again," Hermione said. "He was dressed like an old Highlander, but had a West Country accent that was like a mix of Ron's and Malfoy's. He looked old, but said he was only twenty-one."

"Mum used to read to us from a book about old traditions and things," Ginny told her. "It included things like your magic mixing with your soulmate's when you first found them. In the stories, they were never apart for long, but the book said you would be able to pick them out of a crowded room, even if you were blind. Your magic will call to each other."

"It's strange. Even as a little girl, I never believed in soulmates. It just seemed like a thing women said to make themselves seem special. And my auntie Julia had a different 'soulmate' every other year it seemed. And now here I am with an _actual_ soulmate that ran away."

"Maybe McGonagall knows who he is?" Ron said. "If he _is_ twenty-one, or even if he's older, and he's from England, he had to have gone to Hogwarts. She's been teaching her forever so she must know all the students. And how many James could there have been? I've only heard of one, and that was Harry's dad."

"Hey," Harry said, starting to laugh. "Maybe you accidentally had the Resurrection Stone in your pocket and brought an echo of my dad back and he's your soulmate."

The group started laughing at the ridiculousness of Harry's theory. Hermione was filled with joy as she watched the tears of mirth run down his face. He had finally come to terms with the fact that he would never meet his family. Hermione still didn't understand the Deathly Hallows, but she knew they were real. Harry had told her and Ron all about talking to his parents and their friends on the way to meet Voldemort and she was glad to see he was in a place where he could joke about his parents. Maybe he was finally healing.

They had just stopped laughing when Professor McGonagall entered the common room and made her way towards them. She gave them all a hard stare before her lips curved into a small smile.

"I am glad to see you all alive and looking healthy. Potter, I have something to talk to you about. Will you come with me?"

"Of course, professor." Harry stood and looked around at them. "I'll see you guys later."

"Molly has asked that I send you all home to the Burrow," McGonagall said. "You too, Luna. I believe she wants to feed you. The Floo is open for travel in here, and I will send Potter along later."

Ron was up and through the fireplace as soon as McGonagall mentioned his mother's cooking. Hermione stood and gave Harry a quick hug before she followed the rest of the group to the Weasley house.

* * *

James stood in the alcove behind the Headmaster's desk. He, Kingsley, and Minnie had decided that it was best to introduce him to Harry while they were still at Hogwarts. That way, the elf could be summoned to confirm his story if needed. Plus, Dumbledore's portrait, which had been suspiciously absent before, was now pretending to sleep. And James would bet his money on the fact that the bastard would wake up to talk to Harry, even if he was ignoring the rest of them.

He moved closer to the opening as he heard the door to the office open.

"Have you been made Headmistress then, Professor?" a male voice asked.

Tears filled his eyes as he realised that deep voice was Harry. His son Harry. The little boy who only knew a handful of words the last time he had seen him. James wanted to run and hug his son but held himself back, knowing it would be more damage than good.

"I was Deputy Head, so I am acting Headmistress until one is officially voted on by the Board. I think it will be a while until that is all sorted out though."

"Harry," Dumbledore's cheerful voice filled the room. "Back to see me already?"

"I brought Harry to see you, Albus," Minerva said, her voice sharper than James had ever heard it. "I believe you have something you need to explain to him."

"Explain? I haven't the foggiest idea what you're talking about."

"Really? Have you somehow forgotten what happened, what you did, the night V-Voldemort attacked the Potters in Godric's Hollow all those years ago?"

"Oh my giddy aunt!"

"Your giddy aunt, my arse, Albus! How could you? I have half a mind to burn your portrait down and feed it to a thestral."

"Professors? What is going on?" Harry asked. James didn't have to see his son to imagine the confused look on his face.

"What is going on, Potter, is that _Dumb_ ledore did something stupid and now needs to tell you about it."

"In my defense, Minerva, I had a lot of moving parts and once he was squirrelled away, I simply forgot about him." Albus cleared his throat. "But no harm, no foul."

"No harm!" James screwed up his eyes as Minnie's voice reached a pitch so high dogs across Scotland must be howling. "You left him to be abused when he didn't need to be, Albus."

There was a noise as if papers were swirling, then James heard Harry gasp. Unable to resist any longer, James stepped out of the alcove in time to see Minnie, now in her cat form, jump from the Headmaster's desk and sink her claws into the painting of Albus. Strips of canvas fell to the floor as she attacked.

Dropping to the floor, Minerva turned to look at him before changing back into her human form. James ducked back into the alcove before Harry could see him and cast a silencing charm over the entrance to block the sounds of his laughter. He had never seen her lose control, no matter how much trouble he and his friends caused. To watch Minerva attack Albus' portrait was a thing of beauty.

"Professor?" Harry choked out and James quieted his laughter to listen to his son. "Are you alright? Do I need to call Madam Pomfrey?"

"I'm fine, Potter. Just angry."

"I noticed. I'm happy we never made you angry if that's how you react. Your claws look sharp. Would you care to explain why you just went all crazy cat on a portrait?"

James leaned against the wall and listened as Minerva forced Albus to explain what had really happened to him all those years ago. It broke his heart to hear Harry's crying and not be able to go out and comfort him. He couldn't wait to hug his son. It didn't matter that he was no longer the baby James remembered or that they were only a few years apart. Harry would always be his son and it was his job as his father to make sure his son didn't suffer.

"Just to be clear," Harry finally said after Albus was done talking. "Are you telling me that you sent someone, disguised as my dad, to die? That you _knew_ Voledemort was coming to kill my parents that night and you _willingly_ allowed my mother and an innocent man to be murdered? And instead of allowing me to be raised by _my father_ who was alive, I had to endure ten years of living with the Dursleys? Ten years where I was mentally and physically abused everyday?"

"Yes," Albus said quietly.

" _Incendio_!"

Heat and Albus' screams filled the room and James could only assume Harry had lit the portrait on fire.

"Harry," Minerva said quietly and the heat ceased. "I know you're angry. I am too. But–"

"But what?" Harry yelled. "There is no but in this situation, Professor."

"James is alive, Harry. I've talked to him."

"M-my dad? He's here?"

"I'll give you two privacy. Send a Patronus or call for Floppy if you need anything. James? You can come out now."

James waited until he heard the door close before he glanced down at his clothes. Thankfully, Minerva had transfigured him back to look like himself so he wasn't going to see Harry dressed like a Highlander. Taking a deep breath, he moved into the office and stopped as his eyes finally fell on his son.

Harry's green eyes, the exact shape and shade of Lily's were wide as he looked James up and down. His black hair was long, brushing his shoulders, but James could tell that if it was short, they would look more like twins than father and son. He wondered if it still stood up in the back like it had done when he was a baby, but wouldn't get his mouth to work long enough to ask him.

"Dad?" Harry choked out finally. "Are you really alive?"

Taking the last few steps to close the distance between them, James gripped Harry by the shoulders as he nodded. His son sobbed and James immediately pulled him into a tight hug. Tears were streaming down his face as he held his son in his arms again. He could feel the shoulder of his shirt dampening as Harry cried on his shoulder.

"You're so grown up," James finally said, stepping back slightly and they looked each other over.

"I never really believed people when they said we look alike," Harry said. "We could be brothers. You don't look old enough to be my dad."

"That's because I'm still twenty-one, thanks to that twat." James turned his head to see Albus' painting was nothing more than charred edges of a canvas in a gold frame. It could easily be fixed with a _Reparo_ , but James was happy with how it was for now. "Fucking wanker."

"Couldn't have said it better myself."

They sat talking for a long time. James wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it was long enough for Floppy to bring them sandwiches twice and countless cups of tea. They talked about everything. Harry explained what it was like to grow up with Lily's sister and had to restrain James so he didn't Apparate to their location and kill them.

He told his son what it was like going to school with Sirius and Remus, refusing to even mention Peter—traitorous bastard. Harry had been surprised to learn that the Ministry was so short staffed in those days that James had been able to complete Auror training in less than a year. A feeling of pride filled James when Harry told him he wanted to be an Auror as well, even if the feeling was mixed with worry for his son.

They talked about Harry's years at Hogwarts and how much he had struggled but how he had two best friends that stood by him through it all. James couldn't help but laugh when Harry described his girlfriend Ginny and teased his son for finding a woman that looked like his mum.

"And Ginny and Ron are both Weasleys?" James asked.

"They are," Harry said. "Did you know them?"

"I heard of them. I was friends with the Prewett twins and Molly was their older sister. They used to tell us stories about their nephews but I never met any of them. Worked with Arthur a few times as an Auror though. Nice man. Now, who is Mi?"

"Her real name is Hermione Granger. She's been like a sister to me since we became friends in first year. I think I would have died more than a few times or at least failed my classes without her."

James had to fight to swallow. Hermione Granger, the girl that was his soulmate, was his son's best friend? _Well fuck. I'm in deep shite now._

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my beautiful readers! Thank you so much for your love on the last chapter! I am so happy to be expanding this story. I hope to post it on Mondays, but I don't have it pre-written, so I apologize in advance if I'm late. Also, I have a few other things I'm overloading my Alpha/Beta/Cheer team with, so this is un-beta'd. (But that also means I have a new story I will be posting soon that is 100% written!)
> 
> Let me know what you thought and interact with me on Tumblr (TriDogMom)


	3. Chapter 3

"I'm sure you want to see your friends again, but do you want to come to the house with me?" James asked. "That way you know where to Apparate. If you want to live with me that is."

"Of course I want to live with you," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "It's that or living at Grimmauld Place or the Burrow. And I would rather not live with my girlfriend's parents."

"I can't believe Pads was able to pass his house on to you. His parents must have rolled in their graves."

"His mum's painting hangs in the house. She told me more than once how she felt about it." Harry paused for a moment. "But, uh dad… Your house was destroyed that night that mum was killed. I've seen it."

"That wasn't our house. That was Dumbledore's old house. We were in hiding there, but the Potter family has a Manor on the outskirts of Tinworth."

"Ginny's oldest brother, Bill, lives over there in Shell Cottage."

"That is only a few miles from our place. Before the International Statute of Secrecy, the Potters were very influential in the Muggle and Wizarding worlds and our family owned that whole area."

"If we're that old, why aren't we part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight like the Malfoys?"

"Because, unlike the Malfoys who chose to cut off all ties with their Muggle friends pretty early after the Statute was being discussed, the Potter's didn't do so until we were forced to. The other families in the Twenty-Eight thought we were a risk for exposure due to our friends and habit of marrying Muggles so we weren't included." James shrugged. "Never bothered me any."

"I bet Mi could have told me that if I asked. She's really into history and knew more about me when I met her than I did."

"You and her have been friends since first year, but you never… had feelings for her?" James didn't want to have anything, soulmate or not, come between him and his son.

"Not at all," Harry said and James could tell he was being honest. "She's beautiful, smart, loving, and anyone would be lucky to have her, but she's always felt like family to me. Why?"

_Might as well tell him now. The longer I wait, the worse it could be._

"What do you know about soulmates?"

Harry's mouth was hanging open before he started laughing. "No fucking way."

"What?"

"Did you happen to be dressed like a Scottish Highlander earlier?"

"Yes," James answered, not following Harry's questioning. "Minnie disguised me so I could work on repairing the castle while you slept. Why?"

"Because Mi told us all about this twenty-one year old, Scottish Highlander who looked old and sounded English named James that was her soulmate. Was that you?"

"I… um… I… I love your mum!"

"I know," Harry said, clearly confused. "That's not what I asked."

"Technically Hermione _is_ my soulmate, but I wasn't planning on acting on it."

"But I thought soulmates meant you were perfect for each other. Why wouldn't you want to act on it?"

"Because your mum _just_ died!" James couldn't believe his son was being so thick.

"Mum died sixteen years ago, Dad. It's natural that you would want to move on and find love again."

"She may have died sixteen years ago to you, but to me it just happened. I was forced to drink a potion and the next thing I knew, the whole world moved on while I slept. The last time I saw you, you were a year old and playing with your toy broomstick. That wasn't even twenty-four hours ago, but now you're a man that just won a fucking war."

James didn't know when he stood up or at what point he started yelling, but suddenly he was on his feet and breathing hard. Harry slowly made his way to where James was standing and put his hand on his father's shoulder.

"Sorry, Dad. I didn't think about how little time has passed for you. I won't push you, but I think you need to get to know Hermione. You're soulmates, and if what Ginny said was true, your magic will try to bring you two together. Don't hurt her because you're afraid of moving too fast or hurting mum's feelings." Harry paused to take a deep breath. "I've spoken to an echo of mum twice in my life. I know you two love each other. And I think she'd want you to be happy."

"She used to tell me that if she died and I got remarried, she would come back and hex my bollocks off while I slept."

Harry laughed and James joined in. He knew his son was right. No matter what Lily joked about, they had both talked about what would happen if one of them died, leaving the other behind. They had both said that if the other found someone who made them happy, they shouldn't pass that up. But it was one thing to talk about it in abstract and another to try to actually do it.

The truth was, thinking about Lily hurt. He missed her. But the heartbreak he had felt hours ago when he read her name in the paper already felt lighter. He still loved her, but it felt different than it had before Dumbledore tricked him. Was that his soul preparing him to be with Hermione? But shouldn't he have a _choice_ on who he moved on with? Or if he moved on at all.

* * *

After Harry left for the Burrow to talk to his friends, James sat at the desk behind the study in his house, picked up his tumbler of firewhisky, and took a deep drink before setting it down and sighing. It had been a long day. He laughed humorlessly when he realised the day he was referring to had actually been sixteen and a half years long.

He was twenty one. His son was almost eighteen. All his friends and other family members were dead. He had lost his wife and gained a soulmate. The only thing that hadn't changed was this house. Placed under a long term stasis charm when they went into hiding, it was just as they had left it. Loki and Bo, their house-elves had woken up when he had and were already in love with the 'all growed up young Master Harry'.

James thought over the conversation he and Harry had while they went on a tour of the house. He had been beyond pleased to find out that the Marauder's map had found its way into his son's possession. When Harry had been telling him about using the Invisibility Cloak, he had suddenly stopped walking, looking confused.

" _Are you alright, son?" James asked_

" _The Cloak," Harry said, voice filled with confusion. "It made me think about something. When I was walking into the forest to face Voldemort, I had this stone. It's… well, it sounds crazy, but it can bring people… or an echo of a person, back from the dead and–"_

" _You had the Resurrection Stone? Where did you find it?"_

" _You know about the Deathly Hallows?"_

" _Of course I know about them, and you would have too if not for Dumbles. We are descendants of the Peverell family. I was told the story of the three brothers and the real meaning behind it when I was just a small child."_

" _Well, when I thought I was walking to my death, I had it and used it. Remus, Sirius, Mum, and you were there and you all talked to me," Harry told him. "How is that possible if you didn't die?"_

" _I don't know for sure, but I assume you saw the man that was Polyjuiced as me," James explained. "Thinking back, and now that you've met me, was there anything about that echo that seemed off to you?"_

" _I thought it was strange that he didn't talk to Mum, or touch her. He didn't even look over at Remus and Sirius. I would have thought that if you were pulled from… wherever it is you go when you die… you and Sirius would have made at least one joke."_

" _The man who was disguised as me never liked Sirius much and didn't trust Remus on account of his furry little problem. I can only guess that is who you actually talked to."_

_James knew from his Auror training that if you take Polyjuice, even if you die you stay in the assumed form until the potion wears off. A perfectly brewed batch could last up to twelve hours, and he'd been given a large flask, which meant John Smith would have looked like James still. Maybe whatever form you were in when you died was the form you kept in the afterlife?_

_Harry had told him how Hagrid had known to come and collect Harry from their ruined house and that Dumblewhore was already there. Stupid wanker probably sat in the house, Disillusioned and watched while Voldemort killed Lily and John. How else would he have known that the house was attacked?_

Pulling his thoughts back to the present, James looked down at the Daily Prophet he had taken from Hogwarts. Sighing, he looked at _her_ face plastered on it's pages. He smiled at the picture of Hermione hugging Harry before the Triwizard tournament. It was clear, even in the grainy picture that she loved his son. He had been impressed by how loyal she was when Harry had told him about his life. Never abandoning him, always looking out for him, even when that meant Harry being upset with her.

And Merlin, was she beautiful. James knew from Harry's stories that there hadn't been much food while they were on the run, which accounted for why she looked healthier in the older pictures. But even as underfed as she was when he saw her, he couldn't remember ever seeing anyone as lovely as she looked when her magic was intertwining with his.

He tried to recall what his mum had told him about soulmates when he was younger. She had loved the idea that some people had a perfect match in the world and had studied it in depth. Phrases like _it's your magic telling you they're perfect for you; so rare and special; explosive love;_ and _irresistible_ swam around his head in his mother's voice. But he was still torn. He had loved Lily, passionately and deeply. How could he just turn that off?

" _It's your magic telling you they're perfect for you."_

Being able to make his own choices had always been important to James, even as a young child. He could still remember asking his mum why the fates would take away someone's ability to choose who they wanted to be with. In her warm, patient way, she had explained to him that he always had a choice, but questioned him on why he would doubt his magic. If he trusted magic enough to keep a broom in the air, save someone's life, or transfigure a tissue into a tent, why wouldn't he trust it enough to show him who would make him happy?

* * *

"Bring him through."

Hermione heard Ginny's command, but didn't understand what she was talking about. Everything around her was hazy and seemed to move in slow motion. She tried to think about where she was and what was going on. It seemed to take forever, but the _him_ Ginny was talking about hadn't even reached her yet when it all came back to her.

She had arrived at the Burrow with Ron, Ginny, and Luna and enjoyed Mrs Weasley's cooking as they sat around and filled each other in on what they had gone through over the last nine months. Various people came in and out of the house, sometimes causing her anxiety to raise, but since they were all family or Order members and the wards were still in place, she calmed easily enough. After an hour had passed, she had started to become worried that Harry wasn't back from his trip with McGonagall.

She tried passing the time by reading the book Molly had on soulmates, and while interesting, it wasn't enough to keep her full attention.

As time went on, she became more and more anxious. They hadn't even checked to make sure it _was_ Professor McGonagall before Harry left with her. What if it was a Death Eater disguised to look like her? Where was Harry? Was he dead somewhere? Ron continued to eat, never seeming to stop, whilst Ginny looked worried, and Luna assured them that Harry was alright. The hours seemed to drag and fly by and Harry was still gone. Molly forced a calming draught down her throat, but Hermione's anxiety continued to climb until she was having a full blown panic attack. She wasn't sure how many more doses of calming draught she must have taken, but it had to have been a lot.

"Mi? I'm here. I'm safe," Harry whispered to her, crawling into the bed next to her and wrapping his arms around her. "I've got you."

Pressing her nose against his chest, she took deep breaths, allowing his scent to calm her. She vaguely heard Ginny shuffling everyone from the room before a silencing charm settled around them and the door locked. It took a few more deep breaths before Hermione was able to talk.

"You were gone for so long. I- I thought you were dead."

"I'm so sorry. I had something important come up and I lost track of time. I should have sent you a Patronus. I can only imagine how I would feel if I hadn't heard from you after so long."

She felt weak, but the truth was, Harry was her world. Everything she had done for the last nine months had been to keep him alive. Not knowing where he was had brought back her memory of seeing him lying dead in Hagrid's arms. She knew that one day, probably after a lot of therapy, she would be fine, but for now, she was scared and slightly broken.

"We'll have to get used to not being together all the time soon enough," Hermione told him. "Where were you?"

"We'll get there, Mi," Harry assured her. "I still feel strange if you're not with me. I… Well I have news. It involves you, too."

Hermione listened in shock as Harry told her where he had been. Rage ripped through her as she listened to what Dumbledore had done to James and Lily. How do you just _forget_ you have a human in animated suspension locked up in a room not twenty feet from where you sleep? Not to mention the horrors Harry had to live through with the Dursleys when he dad was alive all along.

"There's one more thing." Harry was smiling slightly and his voice sounded amused.

"What?" Hermione asked, apprehensively.

"You remember that Highlander you met? Your soulmate?"

"Of course."

"That was my dad."

Staring at him in shock for a moment, Hermione processed his words. "But… what? Are you sure?"

"Dad told me all about meeting you."

"Did he say anything about… well about me or being soulmates or anything like that?"

Harry hesitated. "He said he knew you were his soulmate but that he didn't plan on acting on it. You have to remember, for him, my mum just died. He needs time to process it. But he'll come around."

"I don't want a man to _come around_ to the idea, Harry. Even if he is my soulmate. I want him to want me for me."

"And you want him? You've never even seen him." Harry spoke gently.

"I don't know if I do or not," Hermione admitted. "But the book said it's my magic and soul that choses my soulmate. And if I trust nothing else in this world, I trust my magic. I saw how it reacted to him. I _want_ that, Harry." She paused and studied her best friend, still wrapped in his arms. "Are _you_ okay with this? He's your dad. Will it make things weird between us?"

"All I want, all I have ever wanted, is to be happy, have a family, and to have my friends be happy. I know he's my dad, but—it sounds stupid—."

"Tell me anyway."

"Well, it's just that even though he's my father, he's only a few years older than me. And I don't look at him and _know_ he's my dad because he didn't raise me. There is something, my magic maybe, telling me he's family, but I don't have the experiences with him that created that father-son bond."

"I don't think that sounds stupid at all," Hermione told him. What he said made sense to her.

"When I look at you, I've always seen someone more than a friend. Even when I was a right git to you, you've always been special to me. You're beautiful, smart, funny, loyal, and everything I should want in a girlfriend, yet I've always felt that same feeling in my soul... that you were family. I'm a teenage boy and you've lived with enough of us to know boys think about sex _a lot_ yet, I've never seen you that way. Maybe this is why?"

"You think your magic knew that your father was my soulmate?"

Harry shrugged in answer. Hermione thought some of what he was saying made sense. If Molly's book was correct, as soon as her magic manifested, Hermione's soul would have known if she had a soulmate. Maybe because her soul knew she was destined for James, her magic communicated with Harry's on some level that they were family. Because as much as she had thought about, and even been with other men, she had never thought about Harry in a sexual way. He was family.

She wasn't quite sure how she felt about her soulmate being her best friend's dad. Part of her found it strange, but the larger part of her figured that if Harry didn't mind, there was no reason for her to worry about it. He had a vague idea of what he looked like, basically Harry but with different eyes, but had yet to see him as anything but the old Scottish man. But even when he had looked different, she had wanted him.

"I'm going to live with him," Harry said, pulling her from her thoughts. "We have a place near Shell Cottage."

"Oh," Hermione said.

She and Harry had talked about staying at the Burrow for a bit while they hired someone to renovate Grimmauld Place. She didn't mind living with the Weasleys but she didn't really want to live away from Harry. Not yet anyway. Being apart was going to take some getting used to.

"There is plenty of room if you want to come stay there too. I don't like the idea of not knowing where you are."

"Maybe we should talk to your dad before you invite me to live with you. He might not be ready for that."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for such positive feedback! I'm so glad I decided to expand this


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A million thanks to my bestie, sister, and cheerleader LuxLousie for pre-reading this story for me. If you aren't reading her Theo x Hermione story, [Devil You Know](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24593284), check it out. Its fabulous!!

"Dad?" Harry called as they stepped through out of the fireplace. "I brought Hermione with me."

Hermione looked around the large entrance hall of Potter Manor. It seemed strange to her to have a fireplace in this part of the house, but figured if it was an entrance hall it made sense that you would allow magical transportation in and out of it. She had known Harry was left money from his parents, but she didn't really grasp how well off the Potters had been. The manor, while seemingly smaller than Malfoy Manor, was still grand.

"You're back," James said enthusiastically as he jogged into the room. "Oh, hello."

"Hi," Hermione greeted James.

She bit back her grin at his blush. His hand wrapped around the back of his head the same way Harry's did when he was embarrassed and it calmed her own nerves knowing she wasn't the only one that found this awkward.

"Dad," Harry said, and her eyes left James to look at her friend. "Er. Well the thing is about me and Hermione. Well…"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "What Harry is trying to say is that we were planning on living together now that the war is over. The plan was to stay with the Weasleys until we could fix up Grimmauld Place."

"Oh. That's okay, son. You don't have to live with me. I understand." James' face, as unable to hide his emotions as his son's, showed he was lying.

"Harry was hoping we could both live here. If you're okay with it."

"Of course you can. There is plenty of room. But won't your parents mind you living with two young men?"

"I've been living with two young men in a tent since September," Hermione said with a shrug. Stealing herself, she continued. "And to protect them, I wiped my parents memories of me and sent them to live abroad."

"Merlin. Why would you do that? Can you reverse it?"

"I hope I can. But I did it because I knew I had to go on the run with Harry and I wouldn't be able to protect them. It was safer if they didn't know who I was and left."

"You risked losing your parents for my son?"

"I would do anything for Harry."

James had moved closer to her while they were talking until he stood right in front of her. At her declaration, he reached his hand out and placed it on her cheek. She could feel her magic purring in delight as he touched her, and desire flooded her veins. Last time she had seen him, he had looked like an old Highlander. Now he looked like Harry, but with just enough differences to not make it seem like her soulmate was her brother. His hazel eyes were the most beautiful things she had ever seen, fading from green on the outside to a whisky brown towards his pupils. They moved closer to each other, heads starting to tilt.

"Nope," Harry said loudly, breaking them from their trance. "No kissing or anything while I'm in the room. You may be soulmates, but I don't want to be here to watch. Back up."

Hermione let out a laugh but stepped back. James was scratching the back of his head again in embarrassment.

"Right," James said. "How about a tour?"

* * *

Hermione unpacked her beaded bag—or at least some of it, keeping most of the essentials inside, just in case—into the dressing room of her suite. With the exception of the dress she had worn to Bill and Fleur's wedding, most of her clothes were just a few steps above rags. Walking to the small desk in her bedroom, she added a note to the to-do list in her Muggle notebook that she needed to go shopping.

She still had most of the money she had taken from her savings account before going on the run. Maybe she could convince Harry to go with her. Ginny would be the obvious choice, but Hermione knew her friend was worried about her mother and not willing to leave home just yet. The reunion and then loss of Percy in the final battle was hard on Molly.

They had eaten dinner last night in the large dining room before James had shown her to her new bedroom. It was richly decorated in hues of blue and Hermione loved it. She had taken a long bubble bath in her large sunken tub before sleeping soundlessly in her soft bed. Compared to the bed in the tent, it was heaven.

"Knock, knock," Harry called, walking into her room. "All settled?"

"Mostly. I need to go shopping for clothes, but other than that, I'm unpacked. You?"

"You still have all my clothes, so no." Harry shrugged.

"Oh sorry, Harry. I forgot." Hermione summoned his knapsack from her bag and handed it to him. "You'll probably need new clothes as well. Want to go shopping with me?"

"Absolutely not. I'll pay for your clothes if you do my shopping for me. You can get things that you think will fit me and we can just transfigure them to my size."

"I don't need you to buy me clothes, Harry."

"I won't be buying your clothes, I will be paying you in fabric for buying _me_ clothes."

"And how are you going to pay for them?" Hermione asked. "I am going shopping for Muggle clothes and all your money is in Gringotts. And who knows how long it will be before they're open again?"

"Oh," Harry said, adjusting his glasses. "I didn't think about that."

"Didn't think about what?" James asked, sticking his head into her room. "May I come in?"

"Of course," Hermione told him, waving him in. "Harry wants me to go shopping for him and I was reminding him that we destroyed Gringotts yesterday so accessing his money might take a while."

"The bank has already been repaired, actually. I just came back from there. Here you go, Harry." James handed Harry a money bag. "I got you some Galleons and had some converted to Muggle money. I'm not sure what things cost in the Muggle world so I hope ten thousand pounds is enough until we can go back."

Harry and Hermione stared at James in shock.

"James, I have a few questions," Hermione said slowly. "First, that is a lot of money for someone to carry around with them. Even if he did buy all my clothes for me, and some for you, I don't think we would need half that amount. Second, you went out to Diagon Alley? How did people react? You're supposed to be dead."

"It didn't seem like that much to me, just a bunch of paper. Next time I'll get your advice before I exchange that much. As for getting to the bank. I only saw the goblin in charge of our vaults. We have special Floo access so why would I go into Diagon Alley?"

Hermione took in the confused look on James' face and it hit her like a ton of bricks. James, only son of one of Britain's richest pureblood families, looked at life and money a lot differently than she and Harry did. Whilst the Dursleys had plenty of money, Harry had very little until he went to Hogwarts. His childhood was one of near starvation and second hand everything. Hermione's parents had been quite well off by the time she went to Hogwarts, but she still remembered buying her school clothes in charity shops while her parents were finishing their dental degrees.

"I didn't know we had a goblin in charge of our vault. I just talked to whichever goblin was available," Harry said.

"Vaults, Harry. We have more than one."

"More than vault 687?"

"That is your personal one, we always open one for our children when they're born. My personal one is 686, and we have a few thousand Galleons in numbers 688 through 692 for the next generations of Potters. But the family vault is 710. Surely Dumbledore explained all this to you when he took you to Gringotts the first time."

"He didn't take me. Hagrid took me. He had the key to my vault."

Hermione huffed. "Clearly there are a lot of things Dumbledore didn't explain to Harry over the years. Maybe once we are all settled, James, you can teach Harry everything there is to know about the Potters."

"I think I will. Old fool obviously didn't prepare you for what it would be like as the last heir to the House of Potter. But I'm here now and we'll rectify that."

"House of Potter?" Harry asked. "I heard it called the House of Black, but I thought the Blacks were just being pompous and wanting to sound like royalty or something."

"Yes, and no." James motioned them to the sofas in Hermione's room. "What do you know about the Wizarding world before the Statute of Secrecy?"

"I let Hermione pay attention in History of Magic."

"I don't blame you. Professor Binns was beyond boring. But this part is family history so hopefully I can keep you more engaged than that old ghost. Before the Statute of Secrecy, the old rich magical families like ours, the Malfoys, and a few others were well connected with the highest ranking Muggle families and were ensconced in their aristocracy. I'm sure you heard that the Malofys were gifted their land by William the Conqueror. The Potters were no different, except that we rose into power much later than they did, during the time of Queen Elizabeth I, who gave us this land.

"Because our families had, certain gifts, we were given titles. The head of the Black, Malfoy, Potter, Parkinson, Nott and a few other Houses were Dukes; the Abbott, Avery, Shackbolt, Prewett and such were Earls; the Weasley, Selwyns, and others were Viscounts, and the rest were Barons. When the Statue was implemented and we parted ways, we kept the titles we were given."

"So," Hermione interrupted, "that makes you the Earl of Tinworth?"

"Not quite," James said. "Over time, the families adopted our own styling and rules. The heir of the family is Lord or Lady and we occupy the thirty family seats of the Wizengamot."

"Thirty? One for each of the Twenty-Eight, the Potters, and who?"

"The House of Muggles." James looked between the obviously confused faces of Hermione and Harry and continued. "There is a seat that is set aside for a Muggleborn witch or wizard in the family seats."

"I've never heard about any of this," Hermione said. "It's fascinating."

"Maybe you can sit in on the lessons I give Harry and learn more."

"Maybe you can just give Mi the lessons, Dad," Harry said. "This really isn't my thing. I just want to be an Auror."

"I understand it isn't something you're interested in, Harry. But either way, it is your birthright to be Lord Potter and to sit in the family seats when I can no longer do it. It is something you will learn and pass on to your own children."

"Another thing I was _born_ to do. Born to be a Lord. Born to defeat Voldemort. Why can't I have been born to be a normal fucking person!" Harry was standing, fists at his sides.

Hermione was on her feet and wrapped Harry in a tight hug. She knew he needed physical touch to ground him sometimes. After a childhood without it, he craved the feel of another human. She held him until his muscles relaxed and he slumped against her.

"Harry, this is different. This is your family's legacy. A way to change the world with votes, not violence." Hermione ran her hand over his hair as she spoke.

"It would be a lot easier if you and my dad had a few babies and they could carry on the legacy instead of me," Harry said, with a laugh.

"We're not allowed to kiss, but you want us making babies?"

"I'll allow it if it means I don't have to be Lord Potter."

"As much fun as it is listening to my son talk about me _making babies_ ," James interrupted and Hermione moved away from Harry, but kept her hand on his arm. "I believe you're actually Lord Black. If Sirius was able to pass his entire estate on to you, that includes his title. I will ask our goblin to check for you."

"Great," Harry said. "Maybe Hermione can become Lady Muggle and the three of us can rule the Wizengamot." He opened the money bag James had given him and pulled out the large stack of pounds. He stuffed about half of them back in before handing the rest to Hermione. "I want to go see Ginny. Please shop for me?"

"Okay," Hermione agreed. She didn't mind shopping for Harry, but she didn't want to be out of contact with him either. "But give me a Galleon. I'm making us coins to communicate and I expect hourly check-ins, Harry. If we don't hear from each other, we send for help, okay?"

After Hermione had finished the coins, making James one as well, Harry left the room. Summoning her beaded bag, she put the strap over her head. James stood beside her, looking like he wanted to say something.

"I need clothes, too. Do you mind if I come with?"

"I'm going to Muggle London. Are you comfortable there?"

"I think so. After Hogwarts, Padfoot, Moony, Lily, and I spent a lot of time in the Muggle world. It was safer to go out to pubs there than in Diagon."

They made their way into the entrance hall and Hermione held out her hand to him. "I'll Apparate us to the area we need. Are you ready?"

James patted his pocket before he nodded. "Unless I need something besides my wand and money?"

At the shake of her head, he placed his hand in hers. Hermione bit back the moan of desire as their skin met, concentrating on the alley outside the shopping district she wanted. She would have to learn to control herself around James if she was going to spend so much time around him.

* * *

As they landed, James looked around the dingy alleyway, making sure they weren't spotted. It was empty and he sighed in relief. He wasn't in the mood to deal with having to Obliviate Muggles today. James felt Hermione's hand flex in his and tried not to react to her. His desire for her was so strong and he could feel his magic reaching out, wanting to entwine with hers again. Or was it _their_ magic now?

"Ready?" Hermione asked softly, nodding towards the busy street at the end of the alley.

"Lead the way," James answered her, happy for the distraction.

James had never been more thankful for magic and Extension Charms than he was today. Hermione had taken him to so many shops that he was surprised her little beaded bag wasn't overflowing. His will power was only so strong and when Hermione had needed to buy her undergarments, he politely ran away, saying he needed some for himself and Harry. He had no idea what kind of pants his son preferred, but hoped he liked what Muggles called boxer briefs, because that is what he got. Being almost the same size as Harry was helpful when shopping, even if it meant Hermione made him try things on.

"Almost done," Hermione said as they walked into another shop. "I just need a black dress or two and you and Harry need suits. Unless you'd rather wear dress robes?"

"Suits for what?" James asked.

"We have a lot of funerals we'll need to attend over the next few days and Harry and I will probably need to testify in trials. I know Harry would prefer to wear a suit over robes."

"As long as it's not light blue, I think a suit will be fine."

"Light blue?"

"That's what Lily made me wear to her sister's wedding. It was ghastly."

"Fashion has come a long way since the seventies," Hermione said, laughing. "And I think Black or dark blue is more appropriate for funerals."

Hermione sat and watched as James was measured by a salesman. After being given a handful of things to try on, he went into the dressing room. He changed into each suit and came out so she could tell him yes or no. In the end, he and Harry both had three different suits in somber colours. The salesman kept grinning everytime Hermione approved a suit and he had to wonder how much commission he was going to make from the sale. It looked like he was about to wet himself when Hermione informed him she would need dresses as well.

"James," Hermione called from her dressing room when it was her turn to try on clothes. "Can you come help me?"

Pulling back the curtain, James bit back a groan as he took Hermione in. She was standing in the room, hair piled high on her head and the back of her dress open, exposing her back. She must have taken her bra off because he couldn't see one, and the urge to pull the dress down and suck on her nipples was almost overpowering.

"What do you need?"

"Can you zip me up?"

James moved towards her and pulled the zipper up. Running her hands down the front of the dress, Hermione met his eyes in the mirror.

"What do you think? I need it to be nice enough to wear for multiple occasions."

"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen," James answered honestly.

Hermione turned to look at him, heat in her eyes. James couldn't help himself. He needed her. Stepping towards her until her back hit the mirror, he pulled out his wand casting Notice-Me-Not and Silencing Charms around the cubicle. At her silent nod he leaned down and kissed her.

Everything seemed to stop when their lips met. Nothing existed but his witch; her arms around him, her soft lips kissing his. Running his hands down her sides, he gripped the back of her thighs and lifted her up. Wrapping her legs around him, Hermione ground her core against his hard cock.

"Yes, witch," James groaned against her lips.

He thrust his hips against hers, fucking her through their layers of clothes. He wanted to bury himself inside her, but he didn't want to pull away long enough to remove their clothes. Her wetness was seeping through his trousers, turning him on even more. He moved his lips from hers and nibbled lightly where her neck and shoulder melt. He almost came as she moaned.

"Don't hold back," he told her. "I want to hear you. I want to know how much you like this."

"Harder, James," Hermione cried. "I'm so close. Please."

Obeying her begging without hesitation, he snapped his hips against her. She squeezed her thighs tighter around him and arched her back as she cried out her orgasm. James felt the heat and wetness of her pleasure and let go, coming hard in his trousers. It took a moment for the reality of what they had just done to sink into his mind.

"Fuck. Hermione, I'm so sorry. I… I shouldn't have done that."

He tried to step back from her and remove her legs from his waist, but she held on tight. "Stop, James. We're both adults and if I didn't want it, I would have told you."

"But it's too soon. And we're in public. And–"

"And the middle of a dressing room isn't the place to have this conversation. Cast a cleaning charm over us, help me out of this dress, and we can pay for our purchases and talk about this at home. Okay?"

Nodding, he followed her instructions. Keeping his eyes averted from her as she changed back into her own clothes, he held his hand out for the ones she was going to buy. Taking them with him, he paid for them before meeting her at the front of the shop. They said nothing as they made their way to an alley outside and Disapparated home. He mumbled an apology as soon as they arrived and hurried to his bedroom, warding the door behind him. Throwing himself facedown on his bed, he let his thoughts take over.

_What in the fuck did I just do? I just lost my wife and instead of mourning her, I'm dry humping my son's friend in a shop like some kind of pervert? This has to stop. I have to keep my distance from Hermione because I can't seem to keep my hands to myself around her._

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins! Let me know what you thought!


	5. Chapter 5

Hermione stood in the entrance hall in shock as James fled from her side. She distantly heard his door slam and could feel his magic as he warded his room. Anger flared in her at his actions. Throwing her bag to the floor, she glared in the direction he had gone.

_Stupid, immature man child!_

"Hermione?" Harry asked, hurrying down the stairs and stopping before her. "What's wrong? Your hair is doing strange things. Is that your magic?"

"What's wrong, Harry Potter," Hermione said, pacing angrily, "is that your _father_ is a complete wanker! I just want to scream. I want to–"

The world seemed to shift as her words cut off. She had been standing in front of Harry but now she seemed to be looking up at him from a lower height. Everything around her came into sharper focus and instead of her angry footsteps as she walked, she heard a _click clack_ , like a dog walking on a hardwood floor. Looking down, her feet were gone, instead she had white paws.

_What in the fuck?_

* * *

James had just sat up when a stag patronus burst through his door and stopped in front of him.

" _Dad, something's happened to Hermione. Entrance hall. Come quick!"_

James was off the bed in an instant and made his way as fast as he could down the stairs. He was halfway down the staircase when his mind wrapped around what he was seeing. Harry was standing there, Hermione's bag at his feet, and a snow white wolf with grey ears in front of him. His brain seemed to stop, but his feet didn't and next thing he knew, he was sliding on his arse until he landed hard at the bottom of the stairs.

Ignoring the pain in his arse, he went to Harry's side and raised his wand. The wolf narrowed its eyes at him, pulled its lip over its sharp teeth and growled.

"How did it get in?" James asked. "And where is Hermione?"

"That's Hermione," Harry explained. "I don't know what happened. I came down the stairs and she looked really angry about something. Her hair was sparking and she called you a wanker. Then poof, she was a wolf. But Hermione isn't an Animagus."

James thought for a moment. "Well unless you transfigured her, I think she is. I don't know the spell to force her to change back. We'll have to get McGonagall. She'll know what to do."

"I'll go. You stay here."

"Me? But she looks like she wants to bite me."

"Well, maybe if you weren't being such a _wanker_ , she wouldn't want to bite you."

"Why you cheeky little bugger."

James kept his eyes on the wolf as Harry made his way to the Floo and called out the Headmistress' office. Hermione started to approach him, teeth snapping menacingly in his direction. Placing one hand over his crotch, he held the other up in surrender. She advanced on him until his back was pressed against the wall. Crouching, she was about to leap at him when the fireplace burst into green flames and Harry and Minerva stepped out.

"Hermione," Minerva called fimly, "sit down. Now."

Without hesitation, the wolf sat. James wondered if it was a canine thing that had Hermione obeying so quickly or if it was years of conditioning from McGonagall's classroom. Either way, he was happy he wasn't about to become puppy chow.

"Good girl. Now, I need to change you back into your normal self." McGonagall raised her wand towards the wolf. "It won't hurt a bit."

A blue and white flash burst from her wand, and James watched as the wolf changed back into Hermione.

"What happened?" Hermione asked. "I was angry and talking to Harry and then all the sudden I was a dog."

"A wolf, actually," Harry said. James was pretty sure Hermione had changed back into her human form, but the growl that escaped her throat made him doubt himself.

"I still don't get how. I'm not an Anigmagus, and Harry didn't cast a charm or curse on me. People don't randomly change into animals."

"Maybe it's because I'm one and we're soulmates?" James asked. "Can that happen, Minnie?"

"You two are soulmates?" Minerva asked. She continued at their nods. "That would explain it. As you know, it takes time and skill to become an Animagus. But once you have learned the magic, it's a part of you. When soulmates meet, their magic combines and forms a new magic within both partners. Because James' magic has the animagus skill, when your magic combined, that skill was passed on to you, Hermione. But normally you would only shift if you were trying to, or you had an emotional upheaval. Did something happen?"

James felt his face go red. He was the reason Hermione was mad. He knew the mature thing to do would have been to talk to her about what happened in the dressing room, but he was so ashamed of how he had acted, he'd left her without an explanation. Squaring his shoulders, he looked at her, then Minerva.

"It's my fault, Minny," James said. "Something happened when we were out shopping. And… well instead of talking to Hermione, I ran away."

"Are you telling me that I had to come all the way out to Cornwall, when I am quite busy planning funerals and trying to repair a castle, because you couldn't be bothered to pull your head out of your arse?"

"Yes, ma'am."

James hung his head. It didn't matter that he was out of school or that he was a grown man with a child, when she used that tone of voice, he felt like a naughty eleven year old all over again. His head snapped as her hand made contact with the back of it.

"Ouch!" James yelled. "What was that for?"

"For being an insensitive arse and making Miss Granger turn into a wolf," Minerva said sharply. "Now I am very busy and I expect you to deal with this like an adult." She turned to Hermione. "Congratulations on your stunning animal form, dear. It's too bad you didn't shift into a feline form, but then not everyone is so lucky. Once things settle down, I will be happy to teach you some tricks on calming your mind to make the transitions easier. Until then, I'm sure there are books in the library here that will be useful."

With one more glare at him, Minerva was back in the Floo calling out her office.

Harry cleared his throat. "Molly invited us over for dinner in about an hour. I answered for us and said we'd be happy to come over. I told her about you, Dad, and she wants to meet you. Do you think you'll be up for it, Mi?"

"Sounds great," Hermione said. "I'm going to go get ready. James, why don't you come with me and we can have that talk?"

James followed behind her, but turned to glare at Harry as he laughed and said _better you than me._

* * *

"First, how is it that you don't know the spell to force someone out of their Animagus form?" Hermione asked as he followed her to her room. "Remus and Sirius knew it. We saw them use it on Pettigrew."

"I never learned the spell because Sirius and the rat never had a problem with transitioning from animal to human. The rest of them had to learn it because _I_ did and was stuck as a stag more than once," James admitted, smiling at the memory of Sirius and Remus frantically looking up the reversal spell while he was stuck in the shower, antlers twisted in the curtain.

"So being an idiot has been a lifetime thing for you? Good to know."

They had reached her room and Hermione glared at him over her shoulder before sitting on her bed and reaching into her beaded bag. James didn't say anything as he watched her summon her clothes before sending them to her dressing room with the flick of her hand. She divided his and Harry's clothes into two piles on the bed behind her. The ease at which she used magic was something James had never seen and he could feel the raw power behind her spells through their connection. Wandless magic was something he'd never been able to do, but wondered if he could now that their magic had combined.

"Have you always been so powerful?" he asked quietly.

She pulled a few pieces of clothing from a stack of her new clothes before sending the rest away. "Yes. I revised a lot in school, but the practical part of magic has always come easy to me."

"I'm sorry about earlier, Hermione. I didn't mean to lose control like that. I know we're soulmates but I still shouldn't have touched you like–"

"You're allowed to apologise for how you acted _after_ , but I wanted you just as much as you wanted me in that dressing room."

"But we just met, and Lily just died, and Harry needs me."

"Harry will have you in his life, if we're together or not. And I'm sorry for your loss of Lily, but that doesn't change the fact that we're soulmates. I know you can feel it. Hell, I didn't believe in soulmates until yesterday and even I can feel what there is between us, especially when we touch. What are you so afraid of?"

"Everything," James said honestly. "I want you, I do. More than I have ever wanted anything in my life. But everything I know is gone. My brothers and wife are dead. My son is grown. And I have this sexy little witch that I want to fuck until my bollocks are empty, but I don't know how I fit into this life."

Hermione reached out and grasped his hand in her own. "We can figure it out together. First, I think we need to find a mind healer to help. Don't look at me like that. You're not the only one that needs help. Harry and I, along with most of the wizarding world, need a mind healer. But I think it would be a good idea if we went to one together and on our own."

"You'd go with me?"

"Even if you weren't my soulmate. You're Harry's dad which makes you part of my family."

"It doesn't bother you that I'm his father and… a little broken?"

"Maybe if I had spent summers at your house growing up and saw you as a father figure it would bother me, but I didn't. As for being a little broken… well, I'm a little broken too. I have mental and physical scars from the last few years. Does that make me less in your eyes?"

"Not at all."

"So why would you expect me to think less of you?"

James shrugged, not having an answer. His instinct was to tell her it was because he was a man and men are supposed to be strong and not show weakness. He had a feeling that if he said that out loud she would lecture him on his stupidity so he kept it to himself. Maybe she was right. Everyone who had lived through this war or the first one had lost someone or a part of themselves. All they could do was try to put the pieces back together as best they could and carry on.

"I need to get ready to go," Hermione said, pulling him from his thoughts. "As effective as cleaning charms are, I'd prefer a shower after what we did today. So unless you plan on joining me, you might want to take your clothes to your own room."

"If I joined you, witch, we wouldn't be able to leave the house for a week." James stood and used his wand to levitate his clothes and Harry's to the door. "I'll see you after."

* * *

James sent Hermione ahead to dinner, staying behind with Harry for a few minutes when an owl from Kingsley arrived for them right before they left. Molly wrapped Hermione in a hug as soon as she stepped out of the Floo at the Burrow.

"Hello, Mrs Weasley," Hermione greeted her before stepping back. "How are you holding up today?"

"As well as can be expected, my dear. And you're grown now, I think you can call me Molly. Harry told me about his father, what a strange thing for Dumbledore to have done. Ginny tells me he is your soulmate? It's this true?"

"It is. We have a lot of things to work through and I hope to find a mind healer to work with as soon as possible."

"That's a wonderful idea. Arthur and I are planning to see one. I'm… I'm having a hard time dealing with the loss of Percy. Andromeda Tonks works at St Mungo's and I have sent her a letter asking for recommendations. I can pass the list on to you."

"That would be great, Molly. Thank you." Hermione hesitated, hoping she wasn't being too presumptuous. "Both you and Mrs Tonks, as well as many other parents, have lost children. In the Muggle world, we have support groups. They're run by a mind healer, but everyone in the group is dealing with a common problem. I think… well I think there is a need for a support group for parents who have lost children in this world. You and Mrs Tonks could start one. I'm happy to help in any way I can."

"That's an interesting idea. I will think on it and talk to Andromeda."

"Hermione!" Ginny called, interrupting them. "Where are Harry and James?"

"They received an owl but will be through shortly." Hermione hesitated at the grin that spread across her friend's face.

"Good! That means you call tell me _all_ about James."

"That's my cue to go check in dinner," Molly said. "Oh to be young and in love again."

Ginny wanted to know all about James, and if Hermione had slept with him yet, which she flat out refused to answer. The two girls had discussed the men Hermione had been with in the past, but the idea of talking to the girl dating James' son just seemed a little strange. Ginny kept asking until Hermione mentioned the fact that she was asking about her possible father-in-law's penis.

* * *

James rolled over and sighed. It was late and he couldn't sleep.

Dinner with the Weasley's had been fun. He had loved meeting Molly and seeing Arthur again. When he looked around their house, he had been shocked that a family as obviously poor as the Weasleys had taken his son in time and time again over the years when it was clear they struggled financially. Maybe he could talk to Hermione about figuring out a way to pay them back in some fashion. He assumed they wouldn't take money but maybe he could send them on holiday somewhere.

A grin spread across his face as he thought about Harry's girlfriend, Ginny. As much as he teased Harry about dating someone who looked like his mum, Ginny couldn't be further from Lily if she tried. Instead of auburn hair and tanned skin, Ginny's was bright red and her brown eyes seemed to glow against her pale skin. Lily had been on the quieter side, preferring to watch a room and talk to a few people, whereas Ginny commanded attention without trying. Her sharp tongue and wicked sense of humor had James laughing most of the night.

It was clear that even though his childhood hadn't been pleasant, the time his son had spent in the company of the Weasleys had been. They treated Harry like he was part of the family and James was determined to make sure that continued now that he was back in his life.

Deciding that sleep wasn't happening anytime soon, James rolled out of bed to go to the kitchen and make some chamomile tea. As he walked down the hallway, he noticed light spilling out from under Hermione's door. Hesitating, he paused in front of it before raising his hand and knocking quietly.

"Come in," her voice called, muffled through the closed door.

"Can't sleep?" he asked, slipping into the room and shutting the door behind him.

"Not really. The funerals start tomorrow and I know it's going to be hard. I want to go, but I also don't want to."

"I'll go with you if that will help."

"You don't mind? Tomorrow is two for people you hadn't met."

"I am happy to go and support you and Harry, since I assume he'll be there."

"Thank you, but you don't need to," Hermione said. "Plus, I worry that if people see you after thinking you've been dead for so long, it will cause a stir and take away from the mourners."

"I actually thought about that because I want to attend Remus and Snape's funerals." Even though he had hated Snape before, the man had done so much for Harry and James owed it to him to pay his respects. "Arthur and I talked about it and we think if I transfigure my hair red I can pass as a Weasley."

"I'm pretty good at human transfiguration, so I can help you. What are you doing up anyway?"

"Couldn't sleep."

"Come sit with me." Hermione pulled back her covers and patted the bed next to her. At his hesitation she laughed. "I promise to keep my hands to myself.

James decided to risk it. If he felt himself start to lose control, he could always get up and leave. Well, he was pretty sure he could leave.

Hermione kept her promise and her hands stayed on her side of the bed. They talked long into the night, never sticking to one topic long. She told him about growing up in the Muggle world and he made her laugh with stories of Harry as a baby. He wasn't sure how much time had passed since he entered her room, but as Hermione yawned and closed her eyes, he moved towards her, wrapping her in his arms and fell asleep.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the thanks to LuxLouise who listens to all my ideas and helps me with motivation daily.


	6. Chapter 6

"You stayed," Hermione said as James opened his eyes the next morning.

They were wrapped in each other's arms and he tasted the mint of a breath freshening charm on his tongue.

"Is there a reason you cleaned my mouth? Planning something?" James teased her.

He was torn on what to do with Hermione. On the one hand, he missed Lily and it still felt strange to be attracted to another woman. But on the other, here was a woman that was perfect for him, that he found beyond sexy, and he could talk to about anything. And there was no doubt in his mind, or his currently tented pyjamas, that he wanted her. He had read the book on soulmates again the night before and he knew what he felt for her wasn't forced. Everything he did with her was their choice.

"Not really. Growing up with dentists for parents, I have an intense hatred for bad breath. I probably should have asked before I cast the charm on you, sorry."

James pulled her body flush against his. "May I kiss you?"

"Anytime you want."

Their lips had just touched when a loud knock echoed through the room. Without waiting for a reply, her door opened and Harry walked in.

"Hey, Hermione. What tie am I supp–" Harry's voice cut off as he made eye contact with James. He started to back out of the room. "Fuck. Sorry. I'll just go. We have to leave in twenty minutes, so… er…"

Hermione rolled out of James' arms and got out of bed. Harry started to cover his eyes until he realised she was fully dressed in her pyjamas still.

"Thanks, Harry," Hermione said, walking towards her dressing room. "We stayed up late talking last night and I forgot to set my alarm."

"Sure, talking," Harry teased. "I'll wait for you downstairs."

Hermione turned to James, still in bed, as Harry left the room. "Your son has horrible timing. Come here, I need to fix your face so you can go out in public."

"Am I not handsome enough for you?" James said, laughing.

"You're okay, I guess." Hermione waved her wand over him and he shivered at the feel of her magic washing over him. It was like being caressed by her hands. She cocked her head to the side and looked at him. "No one will recognise you but I miss the way you normally look. You're handsome."

James leaned down and pressed his lips gently to hers. He didn't deepen it, knowing they didn't have time.

"Thank you, Hermione."

* * *

"Thank you, James," Hermione whispered against his neck.

She was exhausted. They had just returned from the funerals of Colin Creevey and Nigel Wolpert. Hermione hadn't known the two Gryffindor boys well, but attending their funerals had been difficult. Having James by her side had made the day easier though. While a few people gave the unknown redhead sideways glances, most people had accepted that he was a Weasley cousin and left it at that.

"Is there anything you need?" James asked her.

"A cup of tea, chocolate biscuits, and to change out of this dress and heels."

"Go get changed. I'll have Bo prepare tea for you. Do you want it in the library?"

Oh, this man knew the way to her heart: tea and old books. "Yes, please."

Hermione ran through her mental list of funerals that still needed to be attended as she made her way upstairs. Tomorrow was going to be the worst day she thought. Remus and Tonks. She still had a hard time believing her two friends were dead. They were so young and had just had a baby. Even though she had grown up with two loving parents, she had heard enough from Harry to know that little Teddy Lupin was going to have it rough. Luckily for Teddy, Andromeda would be a million times better than the Dursleys. Maybe Mrs Tonks would be okay with her and James spending time with her grandson. If his parents were gone, she was determined the little boy would be surrounded by loving people.

It was still afternoon, but Hermione decided she didn't care about social rules right now and changed into her softest clothes; a pair of pyjama bottoms and Harry's old Quidditch jersey. Pulling her hair into a messy bun, she looked in the mirror and shrugged. They weren't expecting company, and anyone that did come over wouldn't care.

Walking into the library, she inhaled the smell of books and sighed happily. Potter Manor had many rooms, but this was by far her favourite. James was sitting on the sofa that looked out over the formal gardens and she went to join him.

James handed her tea cup to her as she sat down. "Bo tried to add a calming draught to it, but I wasn't sure if you wanted one. It's just there."

"I think I'm okay," Hermione said, taking a sip of the fragrant tea. "Tea, books, and pyjamas work just as well."

"I agree."

She looked him over and grinned. James was wearing what was clearly one of his old jerseys and grey joggers. He had removed the transfiguration spells she had used on him and his hazel eyes were bright. _It should be illegal to look that good._ She had wondered how much James would be like Harry, but watching him sit quietly and read a book, she realised that while they looked similar, they had very different personalities. Cuddling up next to him, she pulled a blanket off the back of the sofa and cracked open her own book.

* * *

"Sometimes life just isn't fucking fair," James said, removing his suit coat and throwing it on the floor of the entrance hall. "Remus was the good one and had a shit life. And just when he got everything he deserved, a woman who loved him and a child, he's killed. What sense does that make?"

Hermione walked behind him, picking up his coat and then his tie as he made his way towards the bedrooms. They had just returned from the Lupin's funeral and while it had been hard on Hermione, James had been distraught. She had lost track of how many times she had to cast a sinus clearing charm on him after the fourth one.

"It doesn't make any sense," she told him. "And James, you can't just throw your clothes on the floor. You're an adult and need to pick up after yourself."

"That's what we have house-elves for."

"Absolutely not. You listen to me James Potter, and you listen well. Your elves are wonderful creatures who want to serve you, but that does not mean you get to live like a slob."

"What are you, my mother?"

They had just reached his room and she followed him in, glaring at him back.

"Worse," Hermione said, "I'm an angry woman who is faster with a wand than you can ever hope to be. So unless you'd like to have a face full of boils that spell out 'lazy arsehole', I'd suggest you watch your cheek."

James turned to face her, ripping his unbuttoned shirt off of him and throwing it to the floor, he kicked his shoes off. He reached down to pull his socks off, tossing them behind him. "I don't know where you get off telling me what to do."

"I get that you're hurting. But you aren't the only one that loved Remus. Your pain is not an excuse to treat people, or elves, like shit."

"And you think you have the right to tell me what to do or how to act?"

"Absolutely."

He moved quickly and was suddenly in front of her, his eyes hard. Hermione didn't feel any fear as he stared at her. She could feel the anger rolling off him, but it was directed at her, not really. She was just the one in the room.

"Fuck," he growled.

And without warning, he was kissing her. His lips were hard against her own. He backed her up until her legs hit the bed. Without breaking the kiss, he gripped her around the waist and picked her up. She wrapped her legs around his hips as he crawled onto the bed and sat her down in the middle. Pulling back, he looked her body over. Placing his hands at the hem of her dress, he stopped.

"I want you, witch."

"I'm yours," Hermione told him. "Unzip me?"

As James unzipped her dress, Hermione kicked her heels off. Moving into a kneel, she pulled the dress over her head and tossed it away. James ran his hands down her hair, smoothing it back into place. His lips found hers again, but softer this time. Sighing as he unhooked her bra, she reached out and touched his bare chest and reveled in the hardness of it. Breaking the kiss, he positioned her until she was on her back and covered her body with his own.

Kissing her neck, and then her collarbone, he slowly made his way down her body until his lips met the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. Without hesitation, she bent her knees and opened her legs, inviting him. She nodded at his questioning look and smiled at the smirk he gave her as he began to lower her knickers. As soon as they were off, he moved, mouth attaching to her pussy.

Hermione gasped as his tongue probed her opening before he kissed his way up to her clit. Swirling his tongue around it, he sucked hard, then began to nibble gently.

"Fuck, James," she cried. "So good."

Her words caused him to hum against her, and he brought his hand up to push two fingers inside of her. It had been almost a year since she had been with anyone and the stretch felt amazing. His hips were humping against the bed and as much as she loved what they were doing, she wanted him to fill her.

"So tight around my fingers," James said, bringing up his thumb to rub against her clit. "I can't imagine how good you'll feel wrapped around my cock. Is that what you want?"

"Yes!" She was so close.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," James yelled out. "I'm going to come. I need you. Need to be inside you."

He pulled his fingers from her and she whimpered at the loss of him. Tugging at the button on his trousers, James ripped them down and crawled over her again. Dropping down onto his elbows, he thrust forward. Missing her opening, his cock slid through her slick folds. As soon as his cock rubbed against her clit, Hermione came, crying out his name. James tensed above her and his hips jerked as stream after stream of his hot come splashed over her belly.

Collapsing on top of her, James groaned and Hermione began to laugh. He raised his head enough to glare at her, but soon joined her in her laughter.

"That is not how I expected that to go," he said sheepishly.

"It still felt good," Hermione said, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "And we have plenty of time for you to learn where the hole is."

"Watch it, witch."

* * *

"How's it going, Dad?" Harry asked, walking into James' study.

Hermione had left, going over to the Burrow to talk to Molly and help prepare for Percy's funeral in the morning. James was on his third tumbler of firewhisky, guilt tearing through him at what he and Hermione had done earlier. As much as he wanted her, he still felt like he was being disloyal to Lily. How is it possible to love someone as much as he had loved Lily, and then days later, crawl into bed with another witch?

"I've been better," James said honestly, the whisky loosening his tongue.

"Want to talk about it?"

"Are you my mind healer now?"

"No, but I'm a willing ear. And whatever it is, I'm not going to judge you."

"It's just…" James paused. "I feel guilty about being attracted to Hermione when I loved your mum for so long. I know she's not coming back, and Hermione's my soulmate, but… I don't know. I should be mourning her still."

"Should be?" Harry asked, confusion on his face. "According to who? To you? To family? Which is just me, by the way. To Hermione? There is no right way to feel or act when someone dies, Dad. All that matters is that you live your life in a way that will make you the happiest."

"I just wish I could talk to your mum one last time. I know it isn't possible, but it's almost like I need her permission."

Harry cleared his throat and wrapped his hand around the back of his neck. "What if I told you that you could?"

"Harry? What are you saying?"

"You remember I told you about how I had the Resurrection Stone?"

"Yes, but then you told us all that you dropped it in the Forbidden Forest and had no idea where."

"I lied."

James listened in shock as Harry explained that instead of dropping the stone like he had told everyone, he had put it in his pocket. Since he had worked out that the Hallows were real and had the Invisibility Cloak, he figured having two of the three Hallows in his possession was better than nothing. In the events that had happened after, Harry had forgotten about the stone until Bo had done his laundry and it was sitting on top of his folded jeans in his dressing room.

"I wasn't sure what to do with it," Harry admitted. "Normally I would ask Hermione for advice, but she'd hex me if she found out I still had it, so I put it in my sock drawer. But you could use it. Talk to Mum."

Nodding his head, James called Bo for a Sober-Up draught and followed Harry to his room. His mind was racing, thinking of all the things he wanted to talk to Lily about. He stopped suddenly. Would Lily have been able to see what he and Hermion had already done together? Would she know how much James wanted the curly haired witch? At least she wouldn't be able to curse him since she wouldn't have a wand.

Harry opened his sock drawer and picked up the stone, holding it out to James. He explained how you needed to turn it over in your hand three times and think about who you wanted to see. His son left the room and James sat on one of the sofas, trying to figure out if this was a good or bad idea. Figuring he had nothing to lose, he turned it thrice in hand.

"Lily!" James cried as his wife appeared before him.

She was more solid than he had expected, but he could tell she wasn't really there. It was like halfway between a ghost and a living person. The colour of her was muted, as if he was looking at her through a dirty window pane. She smiled just as bright as he remembered though.

"James! It's been so long," Lily said, sitting on the sofa across from him. "Sirius and Remus said to send you their love. They couldn't understand why you weren't there with me. When Dumbledore arrived. Oh, James, I wish you could have been there. Sirius punched him. Right in his crooked nose. Remus did the same thing when he found out."

"And you?" James asked, laughing. "What did you do?"

"Kicked him right in the bollocks."

"Do me a favour, yeah? When you get back, do it again."

"On one condition. Go pay a visit to my sister and her husband and do the same thing."

"I'm not sure I can kick Putrid in the bollocks since she doesn't have any."

"No," Lily agreed. "But women have as many nerve endings there as men do so it will still hurt. Tell her it's from Tiger Lily so she knows it's from me." Lily stopped and looked him over in the way she had since they were eleven, like she was looking into his very soul. "Now, why are you holding back with Hermione?"

"Because of you. I loved you, still love you. And it's so soon," James told her.

"I know it's soon, but James, she's your _soulmate_. And your love for her doesn't take away from your love for me. I want nothing more than you to be happy while you're still alive. Plus… well… I've moved on."

"Moved on? With who? John Smith? Just because he looks like me doesn't mean he is me."

Lily blushed and even through the dull colours of her skin, it was scarlet. "Not with John. With Sirius."

"Sirius? My Sirius? Padfoot?" James was shocked. "But–"

"We've been apart for a long time, James. You were the man I needed before, but you're not mine. You belong to Hermione. And Sirius, well, he belongs to me and I belong to him."

James paused before he said something rash. Lily was right, in his heart he knew he belonged to Hermione. And if he wasn't Lily's anymore, why should he be upset that she had found love? And with a man he trusted more than anyone else in the world. Why should he be angry over their love for each other?

"I won't say I'm not surprised, because I am. But I am also happy for you. Will you tell him? And tell Remus that I've met Teddy and he is just perfect. Promise him that I'll look after his son just like he looked after Harry?"

"He already knows, James, but I'll tell him. I love you and I'm glad you have Harry and Hermione."

James sat the Stone on the table in front of him and let the tears run down his cheeks. Talking to Lily had been exactly what he needed. It felt as if a large weight had been lifted from his shoulders. All the guilt he had been feeling was washed away with her words. Now he felt free to move forward with Hermione. He didn't love her, soulmate or not, he didn't know her well enough for that. But he knew that it was a possibility and now there was nothing standing in the way of him.

Harry knocked on the door, pulling James from his inner thoughts. Casting a few spells over his face to hide his tears, he called for his son to enter.

"Everything go okay?" Harry asked.

"Yes," James answered. "Talking to her is exactly what I needed."

"I'm glad. I didn't like seeing you holding back when it came to Hermione. She deserves more than that."

"Yes, she does." James started to walk out of the room but paused. "By the way, your mum told me that her and Sirius are together now. And that she kicked old Dumbles in the family jewels when the bastard showed up."

Harry started laughing and James could only imagine that Harry was visualising that old fucking cocksplat keeling over in pain. "Good for Mum. And lucky Sirius! He always told me how pretty he thought she was. And you're okay with it?"

"I am. I just want my family — all of it — to be happy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the thanks to Maits18 for her comment on last week's chapter that smashed right through my writer's block!
> 
> And of course to my wifey/queen/cheerleader LuxLouise for... Well everything.


	7. Chapter 7

"Hermione, can we talk?" James asked, coming to sit next to her on the sofa in the library.

"Of course, James," Hermione said, setting her book on mind healing down on the table.

It had been a couple of days since Remus' funeral, and while they had talked a few times since their pseudo sex, Hermione had felt the awkwardness between them after that night. She had spent the last two days with the Weasleys, first helping with the funeral arrangements for Percy, then having some girl time with Ginny and Molly, and hadn't seen him much. They had reached out to Andromeda and already created a rough idea on what kinds of support groups the community needed. Talking to Kingsley, he had given them his full backing and let them know that he would help in any way possible.

"After…" James cleared his throat. "After we…"

"Fooled around the other day?" Hermione finished for him.

"Yes. I'm sure you could tell, but I was uncomfortable after the fact with how far we had gone. I wanted it, wanted you, but I was still having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that I am no longer married to Lily."

"You said ' _was'_. Are you no longer having a hard time with it?"

"I'm not. Harry and I talked about how I was feeling. And then — please don't be mad at him when I tell you this — he kept the Resurrection Stone. I used it to talk to Lily. We spoke about how I was feeling."

"I'll deal with your idiot of a son in a minute," Hermione said, trying to stay calm. Of all the knuckleheaded things Harry had done, keeping that blasted stone had to be up there. "Tell me more about your conversation.

James told her everything he and Lily had talked about, leaving nothing out. Hermione laughed imagining Sirius and Remus punching the Headmaster and Lily kicking him, and offered to go with him when he went to visit the Dursleys. She knew her mouth fell open in an unattractive manner when she found out that Sirius and Lily were together. She hadn't even thought about what people did in the afterlife. Evidently sex was still a thing which was good to know.

"She told me she was happy we had found each other and that any feelings I have or may have for you won't take away from what I had with her," James said, smiling brightly at her.

"So, you talk to your dead wife and all of a sudden you have no issues with me? You've come around now that you have _permission_?"

"No!" James moved to kneel on the floor in front of her and took her hands in his. "I haven't _come around_ or anything like that, Hermione. I was holding myself back because I felt guilty at how quick it was. Talking to Lily helped me. I know you don't want to hear about my late wife, but she always had a way of making me see things in a way I couldn't."

"It's not that I don't want to hear about Lily," Hermione said, hoping she would be able to explain herself correctly. "I am glad you and Lily were together. Without that relationship, I wouldn't have Harry. I just don't want you to be with me because we're soulmates or because she said it was okay. I want… I want you to be with me because you like me. Because you see a future together. I would rather be alone than with someone who settles for me."

Squeezing her hands, James brought them to his lips. "I am choosing you. Before I was actively trying to _not_ want you. I do like you. Very much. But I also don't want to rush into anything like marriage just because we know we're meant to be together. I want to get to know you and fall in love."

Pulling on his hands until he was sitting on the sofa, Hermione moved so she was straddling his waist.

"Thank you for being honest with me, James," she said. "I want to get to know you as well, but for now I just want to kiss you for a bit."

"I think that can be arranged," James teased, pulling her head down until their lips crashed together.

* * *

After breaking off their snogging session before it could get too heated, James left to get more things in the estate in order. Evidently suddenly being alive after being declared dead for sixteen years meant a lot of parchment work. They had decided to not let the news of his survival be public knowledge yet, but Hermione was looking forward to the day she would be able to walk down Diagon Alley holding James' hand.

For now, she was going over the letter she had received from Headmistress McGonagall that morning. They were offering the opportunity for anyone who didn't complete their education to come back to Hogwarts for the following year. Ginny, like all students, had been given the selection to either continue onto her seventh year or retake her sixth year. She had received an owl from her friend informing her that she had decided to move onto her final year because she was hoping to become a professional Quidditch player and the younger you were, the better.

Hermione was torn. On the one hand, she wanted to stay here, close to James and Harry. But on the other hand, her education was paramount in her life for so long. Could she just throw that away because she didn't like the idea of being away from Harry? She knew she could survive a year without James. As much as she was attracted to him and knew she would develop feelings, they hardly knew each other. But could she really stand being away from Harry for that long without panicking? He had accepted Kingsley's offer to become an Auror, along with Ron, but he would still be home most nights. Setting the letter down, she made her way to the desk in the corner and pulled one of the Muggle pens from the drawer. What she needed was to make a list. Everything in life could be solved by making a list.

An hour, and a few revised lists later, Hermione looked at her decision. She would take her N.E.W.T.s through independent studies. She would still have the same qualifications as if she had gone back to Hogwarts, but she would be able to take them whenever she felt she was ready. Pulling out a clean piece of parchment, she started drafting up a revision timetable that she could follow for the next few months. She was confident that if she kept her mind on the task, she could be finished by September.

Pulling a third piece of parchment towards her, she made a list of everything that she wanted to have done by the end of the year, including trying to find her parents. She wanted to leave right away, but she was afraid it still wasn't safe in England for them right now. Not all the Death Eaters had been captured after the battle, and she didn't want to risk bringing them home just for something to happen.

"Hey, Mi!" Harry said, coming into the library and sitting right on top of her lists. "How's it going?"

"Harry James Potter!" Hermione began, shoving her finger into his chest.

"What? What did I do?"

"Do you want to explain to me how your father was able to use the Resurrection Stone when it is supposed to be lost in the Forbidden Forest?"

"Bollocks, he told you about that?"

"Yes," Hermione snapped, digging her finger deeper into his chest. "Explain. Now."

"You can be mad at me all you want, Hermione, but that stone is mine," Harry said firmly, shoving her finger away. "It is my family's legacy, just as much as my Cloak is. I am not destroying it or anything else because it makes you uncomfortable."

"But it isn't _safe_ to keep it, Harry. You know that."

"It is safe. It's not like I am going to take it out of the manor with me or something. Dad and I put it in a safe that has blood wards keyed to the two of us only. Plus, I have plans for it."

"What could you possibly be planning to do with it, Harry?"

"I know what it's like to grow up with parents. To never hear your mum tell you that she loves you, or see your dad smile when you tell him about your first kiss. I missed all of that. I refuse to let Teddy experience the same thing when I have the ability to give it to him."

"But…" Hermione trailed off. What he said was so sweet, but still. "You heard what the story says. The dead don't belong here. You can't force Remus and Tonks to be among the living when they should be with the dead."

"I don't plan on using it all the time, or keeping them here everyday," Harry explained. "But I think it would be a wonderful Christmas present for Teddy to see his parents every year. To actually be able to talk to them. And the rest of the time, it will be safely locked away. If Remus and Tonks don't want to come, they'll tell me."

"I'm not your mother, so–"

"Not yet anyway." Harry smirked at her.

"Shut it. I'm not going to tell you what to do. You're an adult now, but please, if you start getting tempted to use it more often, talk to me about it?"

"Of course I will. Now, what are you working on?"

Hermione explained why she had been making lists and what she had decided to do about her education. Harry was supportive and told her she should look into taking the N.E.W.T.s she _knew_ she could pass, like Defence, right away so she had more time to revise. He told her that as soon as the Ministry thought it was safe, he or James would go with her to Australia to retrieve her parents, and even offered to hire a private investiwizard to locate them for her.

"Thank you for the offer, Harry, but I can't use your money," Hermione told him.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I owe you an entire vault for all the private tutoring you gave me for six years, plus that lovely holiday we took in the woods for seven months. Let me do this for you?"

"I won't put up a fight if you do one little thing for me."

"Name it."

"I need the location of your aunt and uncle, and Aunt Marge. Your father and I would like to have some words with them. No wands, I promise."

"Can I wear the cloak and come with you?" Harry asked. "Please?"

"You absolutely can. But I'll have to silence you so they don't hear you laughing. Because I have a great idea."

Harry left the room and Hermione went back to the sofa, picking up the book McGonagall had recommended to her on Animagus magic. Since she didn't have to do the long process of her first transition and figuring out her inner animal, she felt she was almost ready to try it again. Her mum had taught her meditation as a child to help with her temper, so that part came easily to her. She made a mental note to teach Harry and James the spell needed to change her back just in case she couldn't do it.

* * *

Hermione stood in the back garden of the manor with Harry, Ron, and James, taking slow, deep breaths. She was going to attempt to change into her wolf form for the first time, and James was talking to her about what had helped him the first few times. Harry had incited Ron over because they were both interested in learning the skill. They had already learned the spell to force people to change back, which made them happy since they thought it might give them an advantage in Auror training.

"What I don't get," Ron said, looking confused, "is what happens to your clothes when you change? You're wearing them, then you're covered in fur, then you're wearing them again. What happens to them?"

"They turn invisible and float next to you the entire time. You have to be careful not to run too fast or you might lose them," James said. "Then you'll be naked."

"Are you serious?"

"No, I'm James."

They all groaned at his bad joke. It didn't matter that Sirius was dead, James responded that way anytime someone said the word _serious_ in his company. Hermione was pretty sure it was an automatic reflex on his part.

"Ron," Hermione began patiently. "To change into an animal is advanced Transfiguration."

"I know that!" Ron said hotly. "That doesn't answer my question."

"It does. The clothes, and anything else we're wearing transfigure with us. Clothes don't because they change so often, but if there is something you wear all the time, like glasses, that are… a part of you, of your look, you will see that reflected in your animal. Like Headmistress McGonagall's cat form has markings that match hers. I'm sure James' stag does as well."

"I don't think it does," James said. "But I've never looked in the mirror after I changed."

"Change and we'll tell you."

James closed his eyes and Hermione watched in awe as his whole body seemed to grow in fast forward. In a move that she had seen Sirius do countless times, James bent forward at just the right moment so he was on all fours as the change was completed. Hermione gasped at how tall he was. His shoulder was about at her own eye level so at least five feet, and his neck, head, and ten point antlers stood high above that.

"You are gorgeous," Hermione whispered, raising her hand to rub along his neck.

James bent his head down and nudged her face with his. She yelped in pain as he pulled away, catching some of her air in his antler as he moved. She shot Harry and Ron glares as she untangled herself. They were clutching their stomachs laughing at her. Hermione moved until she could look James in the face. It was faint, but around his eyes were darker red circles that matched his glasses.

"Boys," she snapped. "Stop laughing at me and come look at this. You can see his glasses."

The boys spent some time looking over James' body to see if anything else showed up that distinguished him from other animals. Harry noted that on his front right ankle, he had a band of silver hair and surmised that it was probably because his father wore his family signet ring on his right hand. At their insistence, Hermione shifted.

Closing her eyes, Hermione took a deep breath in. Focusing all her thoughts on becoming the powerful wolf she knew lived inside her, it was less scary to change this time. She shook her head, trying to become acomused to the change in her vision, hearing, and smell. While her human form didn't notice, she could tell Ron had eaten steak and kidney pie for lunch because it was overpowering in her wolf nose.

"So why doesn't Hermione have a bushy coat?" Ron whispered to Harry, clearly forgetting the enhanced hearing she had. "Her hair is a right mess as a human, but it looks like normal wolf pelt to me."

"Have you seen her tail?" Harry answered. "That's the bushiest one I've ever seen. And I don't think they're normally so… fluffy. Does she seem to be getting bigger to you?"

"I think so. It's probably her hair taking over her wolf."

Ron snickered and Hermione saw red. Deciding it was time to teach the body a lesson, Hermione bared her teeth and growled low in what she hoped was a menacing way. It worked because both boys stopped laughing and began to back up slowly. She stalked towards them, growling still.

"Come on, Hermione." Ron raised his hands in the air. "It was just a joke. Calm down."

_Calm down? Don't you tell me to calm down Ronald Weasley!_

Hermione lunged towards him, causing him to try to run backwards, but instead he tripped over his feet and fell to the ground with a loud thump. Hermione stood over him, her front paws on his chest, barking loudly. Suddenly a bright bluish white light surrounded her and she felt herself change back into her human form, half on top of him. She leaned down and kissed his forehead as he yelped in fear.

"That should teach you to never tell a woman to calm down, Ron."

"Merlin's dick, Hermione. Scared the shite out of me."

Harry and James' combined laughter interrupted their moment and she stood up, reaching down to help Ron stand. Harry had tears running down his face.

"That was the best thing I have ever seen. New Patronus memory has been made. I have to find a Pensieve so I can show it to Ginny. She will love it!"

"Hey, I don't want people seeing that," Ron said, pouting.

"Sorry, mate," James said, still laughing, "But the look on your face was priceless. Plus Hermione looked sexy as an angry wolf."

"And on that note, I think we'll leave," Harry said, pretending to gag. "No kinky animal sex in the garden while I'm home you two."

"I'll try to control myself. And, Harry, we have a Pensieve somewhere in the house. Bo should know where it is. Probably in one of the old studies."

They watched as the boys walked back into the house before James turned back to look at her.

"You really were gorgeous in your wolf form, even before you got angry. Your coat is so white, except your ears and the tip of your tail. Change, and I'll show you."

Hermione changed back into her wolf form and watched as James conjured a large threefold mirror in front of her. Her fur, thin on her legs, but fluffy on her body, was a bright white, almost painful to her eyes in the sun. Her ears were a light grey, and when she turned, she saw the same colour start about four inches above the end of her tail. She couldn't tell if, like Harry said, she was fluffier than other wolves she had seen on the telly but she didn't think so. She was smaller than Remus had been in his werewolf form, and even Sirius in his dog form. But he had been the size of a bear. Her eyes were the same whiskey colour of her human eyes, and she felt an annoyance that the black skin that rimmed them made a much nicer eyeliner than anything she could ever pull off.

"See," James said, pulling her from her thoughts. "You are the most beautiful wolf in the world. Now, how would you like to run with me?"

Hermione nodded her head and James vanished the mirrors before pocketing his wand and turning into Prongs. He took off running towards the forest on the side of the grounds. Taking off after him, Hermione felt the power of the animal rushing through her veins. She was positive she could run like this for hours and not be tired. Something she could never do in her human form. She followed the stag easily by sight, but could have done so just as easily by sound or smell too. As they ran she picked up other deer scents but could tell the difference between them and James'. They were, earthier, she thought. Like the difference between the smell of farm raised beef and wild venison.

They reached a clearing, and James stopped, shifting back into his human form.

"Now, just like when you change into… well, we'll think of a wolfy name for you… But, the process is almost the same to change back. Just focus on pulling all your energy into yourself and becoming Hermione again. You'll feel a sort of tingle in your left paw, when that happens, try to stand on your hind legs."

Hermione followed his instructions and was shocked to find that he was right, as soon as she tried to change back, her paw tingled. Jumping up onto her back legs, she changed into her human form and was standing up right.

"James, that was amazing!" she exclaimed. "I've never felt more powerful in my body."

"You're always powerful, my little snow pup." James paused. "Snow. That's your Marauder name."

"I'm a Marauder now?"

"Of course you are. You've hit all the requirements."

"Which are?"

"All Marauders must be welcomed by all members of the group as one of their own, save the life of one of them at least once, have an inner animal, and have a cool nickname. We were teenagers so the rules were a little lame."

"And I've done all of that?" Hermione asked.

James moved closer to her, and pulled her towards his chest. "Well, lets see. The only Marauders left are me and Harry and we see you as one of us. According to Harry, you saved him, Remus, and Sirius. You're a wolf, and you now have a nickname."

"But Harry isn't an animagus and didn't save anyone's life, at least not then."

"Yeah well… We voted so he didn't have to do the life saving one. To get around the animal rule, we transfigured him into a baby deer when he was little. Lily never found out or she would have killed us."

"You transfigured a _baby_?"

"He was fine! Sirius, Remus and I were very talented in transfiguration. And we changed him back okay."

"And what was, is, his Marauder name?"

"Nubs."

"Nubs?" Hermione asked, trying not to laugh. Harry was going to hate that name.

"Well he was about three or four months old," James explained. "And instead of antlers or a smooth head, he just had these little nubs on his head. So Sirius called him Nubs."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, all the thanks to LuxLousie for keeping me sane and writing. 
> 
> Let me know what you thought!!!


	8. Chapter 8

"Have you decided what you want to do now that the war is over?" James asked.

They had headed back into the manor after their run in the woods and were currently walking through the house, looking through each of the four additional studies to see which one she wanted to turn into her office. James had the largest one that was at the front of the house and Harry had taken the one next to it. They had already looked at three, and James had saved his favourite for last. It had been the room his grandmother had used when he was a small boy and he had many fond memories of hiding under her desk. He thought Hermione would like it because it was the only one that was connected directly to the library through a hinged bookcase.

"I decided to sit my N.E.W.T.s but not return to school," Hermione told him. "McGonagall sent over some revision guides for me and I think I can take a few of them right away."

"Harry and Ron said they think you could take them right away."

"They've always had more confidence in my schooling ability than I have. I used to get frustrated if I missed half a question."

"You think you'll be different now?"

Harry had told him what Hermione had been like at Hogwarts and he didn't think her need for perfection had changed. It wasn't that he and his friends hadn't studied for their exams, but the way Harry had described Hermione before their O.W.L.s was unlike anything he had ever heard of.

"Being tortured, watching people die before your eyes, and thinking your best friend is dead tend to change your perspective on things,"Hermione explained. "I still want to get all Outstandings, don't get me wrong. But I no longer feel the need to score over a hundred percent like I did in the past."

"It hasn't been that long since I sat my N.E.W.T.s, so I am happy to help you revise any way I can. I can quiz you and judge your practical skills."

"That would be great. Do you think you'll go back and join the Aurors?"

"I don't think so. I think it might be weird to join again with Harry being on the force. Plus, now that my dad is gone, I'll take up the family seat, and run the estate."

They were almost to the library and Hermione asked him why he hadn't taken over the seat before since Sirius had told them Fleamont and Euphemia had died right after Harry was conceived. James explained that they had gone into hiding before they had passed so he was never able to take it up. She followed him into the library and to the wall on the far side of the room. At her questioning glance, he ran his hand under the shelf four from the bottom, searching for the button that would open the bookcase. Hermione gasped as he found it, pushed it, and the door opened.

"A hidden room?" Hermione asked. "Old manors really have them?"

"We do actually," James explained. "But this isn't one of them, this is just one of the doors you can enter through. Come on."

He took her into the study and stood back as she turned around, taking it all in. It really looked more like a small library than a study with three of the four walls covered in bookcases. The remaining wall was a large mullioned window with a deep window seat below it. Smaller than the other studies, it contained a large desk with a leather chair on one side and two straight back chairs on the other. There was a large fireplace across from the desk and two loveseats were on either side with a small, low table between them.

"I know it's small, but I thought it would be good for you," James told her. "It's near the library, the fireplace is connected to the Floo network if you're keyed into the wards, there is a bathroom across the hall, and the view from the windows is perfect for winter sunsets."

"Oh, James," Hermione exclaimed, turning in slow circles. "It's perfect. Exactly what an office should be. I love it."

"It was my grandmother's. I used to hide in here when I'd get in trouble and she'd sneak my sweets."

"Tell me about your family?"

They sat side by side on one of the loveseats, both turned towards each other and they talked about their families. James was impressed to learn how Hermione's parents got married and had her while they were still in uni, wanting to have their family even though they were struggling to pay the bills. He told her all about how his grandfather used to grow and smoke banned herbs, much to the annoyance of his parents, in a greenhouse that he had made unplottable outside the kitchen garden. He had to hold Hermione up as she was laughing so hard she almost fell off the couch when he told her about the time Remus had found the stash in his grandfather's study.

"Sirius and I convinced him my grandfather had grown a cure for lycanthropy. He smoked two pipes and was higher than a hippogriff. My mother boxed our ears so bad when she found out."

"How did she find out?" Hermione asked.

"When she woke up and Remus was lying on the dining room table wearing nothing but that pipe and had chocolate smeared all over his body."

"Remus? But he always seemed so mild mannered."

"He was. Moony was always the sensible one. But even mature sixteen year old boys can be dumb sometimes. And Merlin knows Sirius and I were dumb a lot. What about you, do anything dumb?"

"In my fourth year I tried to free all the Hogwarts House-elves. Started a campaign called S.P.E.W. for the Society for the–"

"You named it _spew_? That is dumb."

"Not spew, S.P.E.W."

"Which spells spew. But why did you try to free them? Elves love to serve."

Hermione explained watching how people were treating a house-elf they had met at the Quidditch World Cup and how she didn't think any creature should have to be a slave. James remembered Remus saying something similar the first time he had come over and met their elves. His father had explained that elves weren't slaves, they were bonded to a family. The elves weren't happy without having someone to serve. Like Hermione, Remus had not liked that answer. Flea had summoned Bo and Loki to talk to Remus about it. James offered to do the same for Hermione, explaining that house-elves were really only slaves to the families that treated them badly.

"Bo and Loki are part of the family. They aren't like siblings, but more like a familiar. You should talk to them and get their views on things. I think there needs to be laws in place so elves don't suffer like the one Harry told me about."

"Dobby," Hermione said, providing the name. "He was abused and there was nothing that could be done."

"But you have a way to help them now. You can finish your N.E.W.T.s and work at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Push through laws to protect them. You'll have friends in the Wizengamot who'll support you."

"But what about those other families? I can't imagine Lucius Malfoy, Nott Sr, or other old pureblood families passing those laws."

"I read that Nott was captured at the battle and will probably serve life in Azkaban. Lucius already had his trial and can't sit in his seat anymore. His son or wife will have to."

James knew Harry, Ron, and Hermione would be attending the trials for Narcissa and Draco Malfoy in the morning. Harry and Hermione were determined that everyone, Death Eater or not, be given a fair trial. After learning that Sirius had been sentenced without one, James whole heartily agreed with them. Just because someone was accused of being a Death Eater, it didn't mean they were one. He wasn't convinced Lucius had received a fair trial because everyone _knew_ he was a Death Eater, but James assumed he had given up names, information, his powerful positions, and probably a large donation to keep him out of Azkaban.

"I don't know Theo Nott well," Hermione said, "but he seemed nice enough at school so maybe I can convince him and Draco about elf rights.

* * *

The next two weeks seemed to pass in a blur for James. Harry and Hermione had been gone early in the mornings, returning well after dinner time, spending all day at the Ministry attending trials. The Daily Prophet had run the story about how Dumbledore kept him hidden for the last sixteen years the day before, but James had yet to leave the Manor. He didn't want to deal with the crowds yet. He was anxious to be out in public again.

He and Lily had gone into hiding almost as soon as they found out she was expecting and had spent almost two years in hiding before Lily was killed. The idea of being out in the open after being on high alert for so long felt overwhelming. Sighing, he knew what he had to do. Picking up his quill and a fresh sheet of parchment, he wrote a short letter to the mind healer Andromeda Tonks had recommended for him. If he was alive, he might as well start living.

"What are you up to?" Hermione asked, standing in his open doorway.

James sealed the letter with wax and his signet ring before answering her. "Just sent a letter off to the mind healer."

"Really?" Hermione's voice was half surprise, half excitement.

"I offered to pay him extra if he does all his visits here. Figured we could all use his services and the press would be too nosey if we were going into St Mungo's every week."

"That is a wonderful idea."

Walking towards him, Hermione pushed the items on his desk to the side and hopped onto it. "I'm starving. Want to go out to eat with me? There's a great Muggle place near where I grew up we can go to."

"What about Harry?"

"At the Burrow. Molly invited us, but I wanted to be alone with you. He's staying over."

James stood from his chair, moving between her legs and pulling her arse towards the edge of the desk. He ran his hand down her hips to rest on her upper thigh. "Is that so? And do you have big plans for our alone time, Snow?"

"If you can't figure out what I want to do, then you won't be allowed to do it with me. You'll have to watch."

"What if I want to watch you?"

The idea of watching Hermione pleasure herself had James harder than his wand in seconds. Now that he was over his mental hangups, he wanted her. The fact that she was so open about her own sexuality and what she wanted was a turn on he didn't know about. He had no complaints about Lily or the other girls he had been with, but all of them had been embarrassed by their desires. Not Hermione. She knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to talk about it.

"Let's see how you behave tonight. If you're a good boy, maybe you'll get to watch and then join in. Or the other way around. I'm flexible."

James stepped back from her and reached into the top drawer, pulling out his Muggle wallet. If they didn't leave now, he would take her on his desk. That was on his list of places to fuck her in the future, but he wanted the first time to be in his bed. He had been dreaming of her naked on his sheets since that first night and needed to make it a reality.

"I promise to be on my best behaviour, but I'll need you to help me figure out the money. This paper stuff still confuses me."

Hermione slid off the desk and they walked to the entrance hall so they could Apparate out. They talked about how he could have been married to a Muggleborn and still be so ignorant of that world. He explained how he had been too busy with Auror training to learn it, then when things slowed down, they had gone into hiding. She wrapped her arms around him to Side-Along him to the Muggle world and promised him that she and Harry would give him lessons right away since they both had a weakness for Muggle takeout.

* * *

"I had no idea you could use spices that way," James said as they landed back at Potter Manor.

"Isn't Indian food wonderful?" Hermione asked rhetorically. "Now you know why Harry and I love it so much. Have you had fish and chips?"

"I haven't. I was going to order it at this place I went to with Harry's aunt and uncle, but Vomit made a huge deal about how he could afford _real_ food, not poor man's food, so I ordered the most expensive thing on the menu."

"That man is a horrible excuse for a human being and I can't wait to teach him a lesson."

"Tomorrow we can plan," James said with a wink. "Tonight I want you."

* * *

Walking towards his room, he reached back to hold Hermione's hand but let out a _oof_ as she jumped on his back and wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders. He slipped his hands under her thighs to make sure she didn't fall and joined in with her laughter.

"I figured since you'll be riding me all night, I could ride you until we get to your room," she said, leaning down to kiss his cheek.

"You think you'll be on the bottom the entire time?" James teased. "What if I want to watch you ride me for a bit."

"Then you'll have to beg for it."

James walked into his room, flicking his wrists to light the candles on the wall and kicked the door closed behind him. He felt Hermione's magic as she cast locking and silencing spells around the room ' _in case Harry comes home.'_ Moving towards the bed, he turned around with his back towards it so she could slide off him and onto it. He turned to her and she was already pulling her shirt over her head so he kneeled down and started to remove her socks and trainers.

"You're on the potion?" he asked, looking up at her. "I took the male one right before I went into hiding, but I have no idea if it's still in effect."

"I took the annual one in September," she told him.

When she was in nothing but her bra and jeans, they stood up and she reached for his shirt, unbuttoning it for him. He kicked off his shoes and stepped back to pull off his socks before undoing his trousers and letting them fall to the floor where hers already were. Taking the time to look over her body, he bit back a groan at how beautiful she was. Last time his lust was so powerful that he hadn't taken the time to really examine her.

"I just want to lick you all over," Hermione said, echoing his own thoughts. "You're body is a work of the gods."

"I was about to say the same thing to you." James leaned down and pressed a kiss to the soft skin between her breasts.

As he was distracted, Hermione reached down and pulled his pants off his hips, letting them fall to the ground. Her hands went up behind her back and he felt her bra loosen against his chin before she pushed it off her body. James' hands found the sides of her knickers and tugged on them until they joined the pile of clothes on the floor. He flipped the blankets off his bed and crawled onto it, reaching his hand out to help her up. She settled on the sheet next to him and he allowed his eyes to roam over her naked body. Turning onto his side, he pulled her flush against him and kissed her.

Everything about her, from the way she fit in his arms to the way she tasted felt like _home_. Like this was where he was always meant to be. Pressing his tongue against her lips, he begged for entry and she didn't hesitate to let him in. If he didn't know how wet her pussy could get and how sweet it tasted, he was pretty sure he could spend his whole life kissing her.

Hermione broke the kiss. "James, I need you inside me. I can't wait anymore."

"I want to worship you. Make you come over and over again until I sink into you."

James had been wanking to the idea of their first time together since the day after Remus' funeral. He wanted to make up for his horrible performance. He had visions of his face wet with her arousal and her swollen cunt tightening around his fingers until she was begging him to take her and claim her.

"We have all the time in the world for you to worship me. I've been waiting for this for weeks. I want you inside me."

"As you desire," James said, winking at her and causing her to giggle.

She rolled onto her back and spread her legs and he moved between her thighs. At the sight before him, he couldn't resist leaning down and swiping his tongue against her wet clit. He yelped as she gripped his hair and tugged roughly.

"No licking, only fucking."

"You are a bossy witch. I like it. Tell me what to do."

Hermione reached her hand down between her legs and slid one finger into her cunt. "Take your cock in your hand, and put it right here. Last time you seemed to have difficulty with that part."

Growling, James grasped her wrist and pulled her hand away from her centre. Shifting forward, he took his dick in hand and placed it at her opening. Looking at her, he waited for her nod of approval before he snapped his hips forward, burying himself to the hilt inside her. He could have sworn he heard an audible click as soon as he was fully seated inside. His world seemed to shift on its axis before righting again.

"Did you feel that?" Hermione asked, awe in her voice.

"My entire world changing?" James inquired, hoping she felt the same thing he did.

"It was like everything moved and rearranged inside me."

Leaning down he closed his eyes and kissed her, murmuring that he felt the same way. At the shift of her hips, he began to move inside her. As his hips found their rhythm, he felt the rush of her breath against his face as she gasped. Opening his eyes, he looked around them, not stopping the movement of his hips.

Their magic, as bright purple as it had been the day they first met was swirling around them. As his orgasm drew nearer, the intensity of their magic seemed to grow, lightening the room. Knowing, somehow, that they needed to come at the same time, James lifted his hand from where it was pressed into the mattress beside her head and brought it to where they were joined. Wetting his fingers on her soaked pussy, he found her clit and began to rub the exposed bundle of nerves.

"Yes!" Hermione yelled. "Just like that. Please don't stop."

"Never," he promised.

His bollocks began to pull up towards his body and he was seconds from coming when he felt her body go rigid under his and her cunt clenched so hard on his dick that he wasn't able to pull out of her. Her screams filled the air and the room flashed with a blinding purple light as he came deep inside her. As his cock stopped pulsing and her pussy's fluttering began to slow, the light in the room faded until they were once again surrounded by the soft glow of the candle light.

"Merlin fucking Morgana," Hermione said, breaking the stillness of the room. "That was…"

"Perfect," James supplied. "Absolutely perfect."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought! As always, I'm on Tumblr: tridogmom. I posted a picture of James and Harry as Prongs and Nubs 😂


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, chapter contains mild violence 

"Good morning," James said, leaning over to kiss her forehead.

Hermione stretched, feeling the ache of their all-night coupling between her thighs. Waving her hand, she cast a breath-freshening charm over both of them before rolling over so she was lying on top of him.

"Morning."

"If we start this again, we won't leave this room for the rest of the day and I believe we have things to plan."

"Yes, we need to plan a little visit to Harry's aunt and uncle, and I have the perfect idea. Let's shower then we can talk about it over breakfast. I'm starving."

"Does that mean my cock didn't fill you up last night?"

"As large and delicious as it was, I need something in my stomach," Hermione teased. "But since you were such a good boy last night, I'll let you wash my back."

"Impertinent chit," James said, but he crawled out of bed and held his hand out for her.

* * *

"Harry!" Hermione called as she saw him sitting at the table. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd still be at the Burrow."

Harry's face turned red. "Er… Well… Molly was a bit upset this morning and hexed me before sending me home."

"What happened?"

Hermione was shocked. Molly had a temper like no one she knew, but usually the Weasley matriarch treated Harry like a fragile child, never raising her voice at him. According to Molly, Harry could do no wrong. And as much as she had raised her voice at her own children, Hermione had never seen her raise her wand.

"She…" Harry trailed off, clearing his throat. "Well, I was supposed to be staying in Ron's room, but she found me in Ginny's this morning."

The room was silent for a moment before James' deep laugh broke out. Hermione couldn't help joining in and Harry hesitated for only a moment before chuckling along.

"You're not upset, Dad? I did sleep at my girlfriend's house."

"I don't think I have room to be upset since my girlfriend lives in our house," James said. "Plus, you're an adult now. As long as you're being safe — and I mean _really_ safe, Merlin knows it only takes one late potion — then I don't see the problem. Except you probably shouldn't be doing that in her parent's house."

"Are you saying I wasn't planned?" Harry asked.

"That is exactly what I am saying. We were newly married and in the middle of the war. Not exactly the right time to have a child. But once we got over the shock, we were excited."

"And it was because mum missed her potion?"

"No, I was one day late taking mine." James looked at Harry seriously before continuing. "Let me say this, never trust a woman when she tells you she's on the potion. I'm not saying she's lying, but the fact is, if you aren't ready to have children, it's up to _you_ to make sure you're taking contraceptives."

"James," Hermione cut in. "I don't think Ginny would lie about that."

She was a little shocked at what James was saying. Just last night he had been fine with trusting her when she said she was on the potion, but now he was telling Harry not to do the same with Ginny.

"I don't think she would either," James agreed. "Really I don't. Ginny seems like a girl who is honest to a fault. But she is also a Weasley, and they breed like rabbits. I wouldn't be surprised if a standard contraceptive isn't enough to counter that family's magic. And just because they're together now doesn't mean that Ginny is the only girl Harry will ever be with. They're young and people change."

"I love Ginny," Harry said. "I think you're right about making sure we're both on the potion though. I'm not ready for children. But… er… well, that is… we haven't yet."

"Nothing wrong with waiting until you're both ready, son. But your bollocks must be bluer than a Ravenclaw jumper."

"We've done things, just not _that_ yet."

Hermione tuned them out as she put food on her plate and started to eat. She loved watching the two of them interact. They were still trying to figure out their relationship and were sometimes more like brothers than father and son. Their love for each other was deep even though James had only been back in Harry's life for about three weeks. Looking at them, she realised this was her family now. She was confident that she would be able to restore her parents' memories, but even after, most of her time would be spent in the company of these men.

"What do you need my help with?" James asked, and his serious tone pulled Hermione from her thoughts.

"I was thinking maybe I could become an Animagus," Harry said. "You already did it, so I was hoping you could help."

"Oh!" Hermione cut in, "I forgot to tell Harry about his Marauders name."

"I have a Marauder name?" Harry looked between them, his face alight. "Fred and George said I must. They think it was Prongslet, but I thought it had to be cooler than that."

Hermione and James looked at each other and started laughing. Harry looked crestfallen.

"What? Tell me."

"Harry," Hermione stuttered out between snorts of laughter. "Your name was Nubs."

"Nubs? Nubs! Like some kind of creature with weird nipples? What the fuck?"

It took a good ten minutes for Hermione and James to collect themselves long enough to tell Harry the story of how he received his name. Every time one of them would start to stifle their laughter, the other would choke out the word _nipples_ and they would laugh again. Harry just sat there glaring at them, clearly not impressed with their amusement at his horrible nickname.

"You were idiots to transfigure a baby," Harry said. "And I refuse to accept that nickname. Once I find my inner animal, you're giving me a new one. What's yours Hermione?"

"Snow, like the colour of my fur," she told him.

"She gets _Snow_ and I get fucking Nubs."

* * *

"You have everything all set up?"James asked. "And did Harry agree?"

"He knows I have something planned but not the specifics," Hermione answered. "I wanted it to be a surprise for him. He's going to come with us but stay under the Cloak."

"And you know where we're going?"

"Yeah, I have his aunt's address–"

"Marge the Barge is _not_ his aunt," James said fiercely. "Bitch needs to be drowned like that puppy Harry told us about."

A mind healer had been coming to their home every day, meeting with each of them individually and doing joint sessions with Harry and James, James and Hermione, and all three of them together. He was also treating the Weasleys and Andromeda. They found that the press was just too much when any of them went into St Mungo's so it was easier to have the healer just come to the Manor and everyone took turns getting help. The only exception to that was the once a week when the healer ran the grief support group sponsored by Andromeda and Molly at St Mungo's.

Harry had spent one session a couple of weeks back with her and James and had gone into detail about what it was like growing up with the Dursleys. Hermione's rage at Dumbledore for allowing her friend to live in a place like that reached such a high level that she had a burst of uncontrolled magic and the windows in the study had shattered. James had gripped her face, breathing slowly until she calmed down while Harry and the healer repaired the glass. It was at that moment that she decided the time had come for the Dursleys to pay for what they had done.

Listening to Hermione rant about all the ways she planned on murdering the twats, Harry had told her she was free to do as she liked with a few exceptions. She wasn't allowed to use magic on them or kill them because he didn't want her in Azkaban, and she had to leave Dudley alone. They had fought over that, but in the end, Harry put his foot down. He believed that Dudley — just like any other child raised by bigots — was indoctrinated by his parents to treat him that way. He also reminded her that since Harry had saved his life, his cousin had changed towards him. Hermione didn't like it but agreed to leave Dudley alone.

Hermione had changed her looks and gone to the Dursleys pretending to be an exterminator and let them know that they had a rat problem and they needed to leave so it could be taken care of. Vernon had tried to argue with her that there were no rats in their house, but at that moment, a rat she had transfigured earlier and snuck through the open living room window ran across his feet to get outside.

She listened as the bastard called his sister and the arrangement was made for them to go and stay with her. Hermione smiled and told them that the problem would be taken care of in a few days. Vernon had huffed but thanked her before handing her keys to the house and leaving with Petunia and Dudley. She had gone through their house, finding Marge's address and sprinkling some of Fred and George's long-lasting itch powder into each of their underwear drawers. It may be childish, but the twins had reminded her that she was still a teenager so stupid pranks were perfectly acceptable. The only form of payment they would accept was a promise that they could watch the Pensieve memory of her earlier attack on Ron which she had agreed to.

"Are you guys ready to go?" Harry asked, walking into the bedroom that Hermione and James now shared.

"We are," Hermione answered. "Do you have the Cloak?"

"I have it here. I know the perfect place to arrive if you want to Side-Along with me. This time of year, Marge likes to eat outside and the stop is on the other side of her garden."

"Wonderful."

"Hold on," James said and pulled out his wand. "Harry, we need to silence you before we go because I'm pretty sure you're going to laugh when you see what Hermione has planned."

James and Hermione Disillusioned themselves as Harry pulled on the Cloak before they all turned on the spot and arrived beneath a large oak tree. She could see the family across the garden sipping after dinner brandy around a picnic table. Removing the charm from herself and James, the two of them quickly changed into their animal forms before making their way towards the table.

"Mum, look!" Dudley exclaimed, pointing toward them. "A wolf and a stag."

"We don't get wolves or deer around here," Marge said in her deep booming voice.

Hermione snickered in her head, which came out as yips, as Prongs extended his neck and let out a long, deep, howl. Marge jumped as fast as her fat arse would allow her to, screaming and clutching the damn dog, Ripper, to her chest.

"Vernon," she screeched. "Get my gun from the cupboard under the stairs."

Hermione had two thoughts flit through her head at the same time; _fuck! I didn't even think about the fact that she lived on a farm and might own a gun!_ and _I know that cunt didn't just say 'cupboard under the stairs!'_ The location of her best friend's childhood 'bedroom' had her seeing red, even if this wasn't the house he grew up in.

Leaving James to his own devices, Hermione took off towards the bitch as fast as she could. She saw Dudley huddle under the table and as much as she wanted to nip at him as she ran past, she kept her promise to Harry and left him alone. She heard bellowing and screeching from Vernon and Petunia, but paid them no mind as she continued to chase Marge.

The fat bitch was faster than Hermione had expected, but was no match for Snow. Hermione had her right where she wanted her. Marge was at a large apple tree towards the edge of the garden, and Hermione knew it was the same one Ripper had trapped Harry in all those years before. Unfortunately for Marge, she wasn't a scrawny little boy and was having trouble trying to climb to safety. Hermione was shocked when, without warning, Marge turned and tossed her prized bulldog towards Snow's snapping jaws. Immediately Hermione forced her mouth closed, unwilling to hurt a dog — even if he was a little shite — and hopped over his yelping body.

Marge had one of her hefty knees on the tree when Hermione jumped and sank her sharp teeth into the rotund arse. She was careful not to tear or pull, but sank her canines in, leaving puncture wounds before biting the hand that was hanging down. Yells of pain hurt her ears, but she made sure she didn't clamp down hard enough to break bones.

Leaving Marge in a crying heap at the trunk of the tree, Hermione turned around just in time to see Prongs stick his head under the table and look at Dudley before snorting hard. With her keen eyesight, it was easy to see the stag boogies that covered James' nephew's face and she laughed.

James galloped away from the three figures huddled around the table and Hermione didn't waste time checking to see what he had done to them. Instead, she followed the stag around to the front of the house. She arrived just in time to see Prongs walking away from a large pile of deer droppings that he had nicely left on the front mat. Rolling her eyes, she approached him. He cocked his head to the side before walking towards Vernon's new car.

Without hesitation, Prongs jumped onto the hood, leaving large dent marks with his hooves. He hopped onto the roof and Hermione could swear he started doing a four-legged Irish jig on it before stepping onto the boot and then to the ground. Turning, James lowered his head and rammed his large antlers into the back window, shattering it. Hermione looked around and seeing the garage open, she left James to his fun and went inside.

Marge's truck was sitting inside and hoping she wasn't about to break a tooth, Hermione bit into the back tyre. The taste of the rubber in her mouth was foul, but she chased it from her mind as the air began to hiss from it. She rounded the truck, flattening all four tyres before leaving the garage, making sure to knock into the shelves until paint cans fell down on her way out.

Giving the broken glass around the car a wide berth, Hermione jogged over to the tree where James was standing. She heard the crack of Harry's Disapperation and she made her way into the nearby trees, James following after her, so if anyone were watching the house, they wouldn't see them changing back into their human selves. Concentrating on her normal form, Hermione pulled her magic in and stood up on her hind legs just in time.

James shot her a cocky grin before pulling her into his arms and kissing her deeply. Turning on the spot, they arrived with a loud crack in the entrance hall of their house. Harry rushed towards them, tears running down his cheeks and Hermione felt her heart stop for a moment until she heard his choking laughter.

"Oh my fuck!" Harry said, between deep laughs. "Did you see Dudley's face when you sneezed on him? And I've never seen Marge run so fast!"

"Did we do okay?" Hermione asked, joining Harry and James in their laughing.

"Well, I think stabbing Uncle Vernon and then stepping on him might have been a bit much, but besides th–"

"James! You stabbed Vernon?"

"Just with my antlers," James defended himself. "Nowhere vital."

"I'm pretty sure the bollocks are vital to most men, dad."

Hermione glared at James until he stopped laughing. "It wasn't that bad, you can watch it in the Pensieve. Harry, pull your memory."

Harry pressed his wand to his head and pulled the memory out, placing it in a phial Hermione conjured. James took it and they made their way to his study as Harry stepped into the Floo. He was going to retrieve Ginny, Ron, and the twins so they could watch it with him later.

* * *

Hermione looked around as they landed back in Marge's garden. James took her by the hand and led her over towards the table where the Dursleys were sitting. She looked over at the tree just in time to see her and James pop into existence before shifting into their Animagi forms. She glanced at the table, but none of them had noticed that two humans had just changed into animals.

James moved her in front of him and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her tight against his chest. He rested his head on her shoulder and turned to kiss her temple.

"I can't get over how beautiful you are, Snow," he whispered into her ear. "My sexy little wolf."

Hermione blushed at his compliment but watched herself run after Marge. It had been fun while she was doing it, but watching it from an outsider's perspective, she personally thought she looked terrifying. Like an albino Hellhound bent on destruction.

"Watch," James said, pulling her from her thoughts.

Hermione watched as Prongs charged towards Vernon and Petunia, Dudley smartly already hiding under the table. Vernon, the bastard that he was, flung his wife between him and the rampaging stag. Rearing back on his hind legs, James howled at them and Petunia fell to the ground in fright. Vernon turned to run, but Prongs was faster. Bending his head, the stag placed his multi-pointed antlers between Harry's uncle's legs and thrust up. Hermione winced at the wet popping sound and saw blood start to darken Vernon's trousers as James removed his antlers.

Howling in pain, Vernon fell to the ground and James took special care to step hard on his massive stomach and legs before trotting back to where Petunia lay. She covered her face, but Prongs didn't make a move towards her until he was almost walking past her. Petunia had just let out a sigh of relief when James kicked his back leg hard, landing right between her thighs. Hermione let out a moan of sympathy pain. She had fallen off her bike and landed with the bar between her legs when she was ten and still remembered the days she had been in pain from it. Petunia wouldn't be recovering from that kick for a while.

Hermione watched in confusion as James looked from Petunia — crying with her eyes closed — to Dudley who was huddled under the table, hands over his face. James instantly turned back into his human form and conjured a tiger lily, laying it on the junction on Petunia's thighs, before turning back into his stag form.

"I watched the rest," Hermione told him, remembering the way he had attacked the car with a smile. "Ready to go?"

James nodded, and they were pulled from the memory. He wrapped Hermione in his arms again and kissed her deeply.

"Nice arse biting, Snow," he said after breaking the kiss. "Remind me not to get on your bad side."

"I promise only to bite you with my human teeth after you beg for it."

"Gross!" Harry said from the doorway.

Ginny and the twins were smirking at her, but Ron and Harry looked slightly green at what they had overheard.

Hitting her hips against Harry's, Ginny laughed. "Don't pretend you don't like it when I nibble on your–"

Ron and the twins all began yelling, cutting their little sister off before she could go into more detail about what she and Harry got up to. Hermione laughed at her group of friends. It was nice to see them smiling and joking again. Merlin knew it had been too long since they had something to laugh about.

Excusing themselves, Hermione and James made their way upstairs to shower and Hermione wanted to brush her teeth. She could still taste the rubber of Marge's tyres in her mouth and hoped the tooth cleaning potion she had picked up earlier in the week would get rid of it. Plus, running around in her wolf form always seemed to turn her on and, full house or not, she wanted her man.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little payback on for the Dursley. I tried to keep it more fun than graphic. Let me know what you thought!


	10. Chapter 10

"James Potter, you have to leave the house," Hermione growled. "You're driving me mad. It's been months and you haven't been to Diagon Alley once. You need to get used to being in public before the Wizengamot starts up again in September."

It was mid-August and James had been out with her and Harry in the Muggle world but had yet to go into the magical one. All of his dealings with Gringotts were done with his personal goblin through a private connection, and he asked the other two to pick things up for him if he needed something. During the war trials, the Wizengamot had not allowed the family seats to be filled. They found that too many of them were people or families of people who were being tried and did not want to be accused of being biased. But in two weeks the full court, including James and Harry would be meeting to vote on new laws. And tonight, Hermione wanted to go out to a new place in Diagon Alley with Harry and Ginny but James was dragging his feet

"You don't want to get on Hermione's nerves, Dad," Harry said. "She's wicked scary."

"You know, James," Ginny cut in. "The clitoris has over eight thousand nerve endings. If you're going to choose to get on her nerves, I'd pick one of those."

James choked and Harry turned a nasty shade of green as Hermione began laughing.

"Ginny, he's my dad. You can't say that."

"And Hermione's my best friend. Someone has to stick up for her. I didn't figure you were going to, _Nubs_."

"Fuck, Gin. I told you not to call me that."

Hermione's laughter increased at Harry's annoyed face. He had made the mistake of telling Ginny, Ron, and the twins his Marauder nickname and they hadn't stopped taking the mickey out of him since. Fred and George had even convinced Molly to knit him a small baby deer and attached it to his back with a Sticking Charm during the last Sunday Roast at the Burrow.

"I just don't want to deal with the press, Hermione," James said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You'll have to get used to it, love," Hermione told him. "Besides your own fame, you're Harry's father. And whether we like it or not, the press will follow us until the next big thing comes along. We can't stop living our lives just because of the Daily Prophet."

"Plus," Ginny added, "You'll be on the arm of the _Sexiest Witch_ according to Witch Weekly. People around the world will envy you."

"Other men better not look at Hermione if they know what's good for them."

"Okay, caveman. We'll make sure to gouge out the eyes of everyone who looks at her." Ginny rolled her eyes. "Let's go to dinner. James, don't forget your club."

Hermione hooked her arm through Ginny's as they made their way towards the entrance hall. James muttered to Harry that he had a _cheeky witch_ , causing Ginny to giggle. If he thought he was insulting Ginny, James was wrong. There was nothing Ginny loved more than being a strong, outspoken witch.

* * *

They had been lucky when they made their way to dinner and the photographers that liked to loiter in the Alley didn't notice them until they were a few doors away. The pub was dimly lit and when Hermione looked around, she saw that most people there were prominent members of society, including Minister Shacklebolt having a pint with Arthur Weasley. When Hermione raised her eyebrow at Harry, he explained that the owner was facetious about privacy and all patrons had to be preapproved before they could enter.

"Who owns it?" Hermione asked.

"Theo Nott," Harry said. "But it's not a pureblood club or anything like that. I talked to him a few weeks ago and he said he wanted a place where people like him and Draco could go out and not be hounded by the press or people who wanted to hound them for what their parents had done. He added all of us to the list as soon after I came here the first time."

Hermione thought over what Harry had said as they ordered their drinks and made their way to a table in the back. She still wanted to talk to Theo and Draco about some changes she wanted to be voted on in the Wizengamot. Both of them had already reached out to Harry in the last few months, Draco especially asking for forgiveness. Draco had even sent her a letter apologising for being a _little shit._ If their actions were honest, she thought they would be good advocates in her quest to better the wizarding world.

"Hermione, good to see you."

She looked up into the dark eyes of Kingsley Shacklebolt. "Hello, Minister. How are you?"

"We rode an invisible horse while being chased by Death Eaters. I think you can call me by my first name."

"Thestral, Kingsley," Hermione said with a laugh. "And that's the last time I ride one."

"I don't care what you call them, riding an invisible animal is not something I plan to do again either."

The Minister joined their table and made small talk with them for a while. She enjoyed watching James interact with his old friend. Their stories from what Auror training used to be had Harry's eyes wide and she wondered if her friend was re-thinking his career choice. She had just returned with a second round of drinks when Kingsley stood and asked if he could talk to her in private. She followed him to a room on the upper floor of the pub.

"Is everything okay?" Hermione asked, starting to feel nervous.

"Besides my lack of sleep, everything is fine," Kingsley reassured her. "I actually have news for you."

"Good news?"

Kingsley pulled a roll of parchment from his pocket. "I was going to come to your home after drinks with Arthur to give you this. It's your N.E.W.T. scores."

Hermione had studied hard and had finished the last of her exams the week before. She had been hoping to receive her scores slowly over the summer, but the Ministry official had told her they would send them all at once, a few weeks after her final exam.

"I figured they'd come by owl, not personally delivered by you," Hermione said, reaching her hand out for the parchment.

"Normally they would be, but I wanted to talk to you anyway, so I said I would deliver them."

Opening the seal, Hermione allowed her eyes to take in her scores. Eleven Outstandings. Perfect scores in every exam she sat. She felt a moment of sadness that she didn't have a full dozen, but she couldn't bring herself to feel too bad about not sitting for Divination. Even though she knew prophecies were real, she still thought it was a woolly subject.

"Pretty impressive, Hermione. With scores like that and the right career path, you could succeed me as Minister in fifteen or twenty years. And I have something that will help you on your way if you're interested."

"And here I thought you were cleaning out the corruption in the Ministry not helping your friends."

Kingsley gave her a hard look. "I'll let that pass because we're friends, but let me make one thing clear; I am not asking this of you because of our personal relationship. I am just the messenger."

Hermione felt her cheeks flush at his words of chastisement. "I'm sorry, Kings. I know you better than that. Now, what is it you want to ask me?"

"The members of the Wizengamot would like to offer the Muggleborn family seat to you. They feel that as the most famous Muggleborn of this era you are the perfect person. I will send you over a contract with the information if you are interested. I also wished to pass along a job offer from the Head of Magical Law Enforcement. They are looking for someone to comb through the laws we have on the books and see if we can't change our community to be a little more inclusive."

"This is a lot to take in," Hermione admitted. "I'm not sure what to say."

"Don't say anything now," Kingsley told her. "Go spend the night with your friends. Talk to them, think about it, look over the papers I'm going to send you. My secretary will reach out to you with a time for us to meet later next week."

"Thank you, Kingsley."

Hermione embraced her friend before they headed back to the table. James gave her a confused looked. Looking around the table, Hermione grinned and held her N.E.W.T. results out to them. Ginny's screech echoed around the quiet pub before she launched herself into Hermione's arms.

"Congratulations, Hermione," James said, pressing a kiss to her temple once she had untangled herself from her friend. "That's more than I got."

Harry ordered a bottle of champagne for the table and she told them about the other news Kingsley had given her. All of them thought she should take both opportunities, but she was adamant that she take a few days to think about it. If she was honest with herself, both things were exactly what she wanted to be doing. She had told Scrimgeour a year ago that she wanted to do some good in their world, and now she had been offered two things that would make that wish a reality.

* * *

"Merlin fucking Morgana in the lake," James groaned. "Please tell me we have some hangover potions in the house."

"I already put it and a glass of water on your bedside table," Hermione told him.

The four of them had drunk way too much the night before and Hermione had never been more thankful for magic than she was when the hangover potion hit her stomach and her headache, stiff muscles, and light sensitivity went away instantly. She watched as James swallowed the vile concoction and chased it with the water. Within seconds his eyes had cleared and he was smiling.

"Magic is the best. One time Sirius and I came home pissed out of our minds and mum hid all the hangover potions so we could have empathy for Muggles. It was horrible. Dad kept making foghorn sounds with his wand just to mess with us. We were still under age so they'd taken our wands so we couldn't even muffle the sounds."

"If you were under age how did you buy alcohol?" Hermione asked.

"It was the Seventies, love. It's not like they checked our ages," James explained. "We took the Floo to the Leaky and went out in London. I still don't know how we got home."

"Your poor mother. From the stories you tell and what Sirius told us, I don't know how she did it."

"Lots and lots of stinging hexes to the arse. Summer Sirius moved in, we went a bit wild. I lost all feeling in my right arse cheek for a month after she caught us trying to sneak a girl into my room."

"Just one?"

"That's what my mum said too. Said it would be one thing if we each had our own, but she wasn't allowing us to play 'share the slag' in her house. She was a bit old fashioned."

"I don't approve of calling a woman a slag, but I think it's okay to not want your sons sharing a girl in your home. There are some things parents don't need to know about."

"Did you ever get in trouble with your parents?"

"Not really. They weren't too pleased with me when they found out I had turned myself into a cat, but they said coughing up furballs was enough of a punishment." Hermione paused before asking the question that she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer to. "Did… er… Did you and Sirius share women often?"

"Jealous, witch?" James teased her.

"Of women who got to sleep with Sirius? Absolutely. I always imagined his cock was huge. Was it?"

James stared at her opened mouth before growling when she started giggling. The truth was, she'd had a crush on Sirius and Remus in the years past, but they were just silly school girl crushes and she definitely hadn't thought about their cocks. Okay, she had, but not often.

"You cheeky little witch. You're going to pay for that."

"You'll have to do it later. We promised Harry we'd help him with his meditation again today. There is supposed to be an electrical storm tonight so he's going to attempt his transformation."

Harry had already gone through all the steps needed to become an Animagus and was just waiting for a stormy day to take the potion and transform. Luckily they lived near the coast and a powerful storm was predicted to hit landfall in the early afternoon bringing lightening; exactly what was needed for Harry to become an Animagus.

Harry had gone through all the steps perfectly thanks to help from Headmistress McGonagall, James, and even Hagrid helped locate some of the potion ingredients in the Forbidden Forest. Minerva had been coming over weekly and explained that meditation would help the first change be less scary. Hermione had been apprehensive when Fred and George asked if they could do it with him. At first she didn't think they would be able to get through the part where they needed to meditate but they had surprised her but taking the entire process seriously. George had admitted that they had always admired the Marauders for making the map and becoming Animagi was something that would make them a little more like their idols. They about fell over when James proudly proclaimed that owning a joke shop made them cooler than he and his friends had been.

Harry had begged James to make the twins Marauders once they were able to successfully change. When James brought up the rules again, Harry argued that the twins had given him the map which saved him from being caught and killed by Snape multiple times. Hermione laughed at his reasoning, but did tell James that she thought of Fred and George as her older brothers so she was happy to have them join their ragtag group.

James had spent more and more time with them as Hermione was studying and taking her N.E.W.T.s and now happily welcomed them into 'the family'. He had even started working with them in his study, collaborating on new ideas for their shop. With all the mischief he and his friends had gotten up to at Hogwarts, Hermione was slightly scared for the professors.

* * *

"Hello, dear," Minerva said as she stepped out of the Floo. "Are they boys ready?"

Hermione told her they were and led her old professor to the sitting room where everyone was waiting. McGonagall had offered to come over in case anything went wrong during the transformations. Evidently over the years she'd seen ' _more than one idiot get stuck as a half goat.'_

As they waited for the storm to blow in, Minerva told them stories of things she had seen over the years as a professor that had them clutching their stomachs and crying from laughter. James asked if the rumors about Flitch and Madam Pince were true, and she shuttered and told him her cat eyes had seen things no one should have to from those two. With the first crack of lightning, she turned serious.

"Now boys, have you all felt the second heartbeat of your animal during your morning and evening chants?" she asked.

"I think so," Fred said. "It feels more like a fluttering in my chest than my own beat."

"That could be because your animal has a different heartbeat than you're used to. Cats have a faster beat than humans, so I felt my own and one almost twice as fast."

James explained how his second beat had felt slower as he summoned Bo to bring him the box that contained the boys' potion. It had to be kept out of sunlight so they had sealed it in a box then put the box in a safe hidden behind one of the portraits in James' study. He opened the box and Hermione was pleased to see that all three vials had turned blood red like they were supposed to. Handing each of them the vial with their name on it, Fred and George pulled the cork but Harry stopped them.

"Shouldn't we be outside?" he asked.

"No," Minerva answered. "Since we don't know what you'll change into it is better we keep you contained. If you turn into a fly and get scared, we might not be able to find you."

Hermione looked around the room at all the valuables on the tables and began placing protection charms around everything. For good measure, she sealed the doors and windows in case they became something large enough to break them. She listened as Minerva told them the next steps. Since the storm was going to last most of the night, they decided to take it in turns.

"Fred, you first," James said. "And don't freak out and try to charge us or anything. Unless you're a whale, Prongs is probably bigger."

"We're going together," George said. "It doesn't feel right if we don't."

"Fine."

Changing into her wolf form, just in case, Hermione watched as they drank their potion and pointed their wands at their chests, chanting the needed words. Twin yelps of pain made her screw up her eyes and when she looked back, identical magpies were hoping around on the sofa where Fred and George had been sitting. Well, almost identical. The bird she assumed to be George had a white circle on the left side of his head where the other one didn't.

Their black eyes were darting around the room, but they settled quickly. James held out his hand and George hopped twice before flying to him. Or attempting to. He stayed in the air for a second before tumbling to the ground. Catching him just in time, James sat him on the coffee table and encouraged him to try again. After a few attempts from both boys, they were soon circling the room.

"Change back now," Minerva said firmly. "Time to let Harry try."

The twins changed back into themselves but started complaining about how they wanted to fly more. Minerva gave them her best _professor stare_ and reminded them that Harry could turn into a lion that thought they looked tasty. At their shocked faces, Harry laughed and promised he would try to avoid eating them anytime soon.

They all watched in silence as Harry transformed. His cry of pain was quieter than the twins' had been, but the sound tore through Hermione's heart. She hated seeing him suffer, even if just for a moment.

The room gasped in unison as Harry transformed. Even though this wasn't the first time Hermione had been around one, the red and golden colour of his feathers was impressive. She moved closer and saw that he had a bright gold lightning bolt on the downy feathers of his head. A beautiful musical tone sounded from Harry's phoenix form before he spread his large wings and took flight. Hermione changed back and she watched him circle the room twice before he landed heavily on the sofa and changed back.

"Holy Helga," Harry exclaimed. "I'm a fucking phoenix."

"Language, Mr Potter," Minerva said.

"Come on, Minne," James teased. "I think he can swear after finding out he's a phoenix. It's wicked cool."

"Makes sense," George said. "Your form. You're as unkillable as a bloody phoenix."

"Now that you're all in order, I need to take my leave." Minerva stood up and waved her wand, conjuring five rolls of parchment. "All of you need to register your animals and take it to the Ministry. And yes, I will be checking so don't try to get out of it. It's a silly thing to go to Azkaban for."

"Yes, ma'am," they replied.

As soon as she left the room, Harry turned to James. "Okay, Nubs is out. I need a new Marauder name."

"Let's see." James scratched his chin.

"What about Breasts?" Fred said with a snort.

"Yeah, did you see how big his were?" George added, laughing. "Feed a whole family with them."

"No female body parts!" Harry yelled at them. "Nothing sexual at all either."

Names were thrown out at random and Harry rejected Campfire, Flame, Chicken, Firenado, and Drumstick.

In the end, they had found names that fit them all. James pulled out his camera and charmed it to take a photo of them. He transitioned into Prongs and Hermione sat next to his legs. Fred and George perched on his antlers and Harry landed next to Hermione, shaking his tail feathers until they were perfect.

That night, Hermione shifted the picture of the original Marauders on the mantelpiece to make room for their new group shot. Looking like the ragamuffins they were sat Prongs, Snow, Ashes, Tweet, and— his head turned to show off his beautiful white spot— Twat.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _**A/N: Happy Monday! I hope you all enjoyed it. Let me know what you thought! Find me on[Tumblr](https://tridogmom.tumblr.com/)** _


	11. Chapter 11

"It's the middle of the day, Harry. What are you doing home?" Hermione asked as Harry walked into the sitting room and sat on the sofa across from them.

Harry looked from Hermione to James and began to scratch the back of his head. It was Monday and he had just left a few hours ago, carrying a letter to Kingsley from Hermione in which she accepted both the job offer and the seat in the Wizengamot. James had expected Harry to return, exhausted after a day of Auror training, with a letter containing all the information Hermione would need to get started. Instead, he was standing awkwardly in front of them like they were about to spank him before grounding him for a week.

"I… er… I quit," Harry said finally.

"You what?"

"I'm sure you had a good reason, son," James said. "I'll have Bo bring us tea while you explain."

Bo instantly popped into the room with tea service, perfectly prepared tea already floating towards them. With his thanks, James dismissed the elf and focused on Harry. James and Harry had talked multiple times about how Harry had wanted to be an Auror since his fourth year. To say James was shocked would be an understatement but he kept his face calm, waiting for Harry to explain. Most people don't give up on their dreams without a good reason.

"I was waiting for the lift to go to training, and the men next to me were talking about how the Seeker for England's national team was hurt and they didn't know what they were going to do," Harry explained. "Then I heard my name and looked up. They were talking to the coach for Puddlemere United where my old team captain plays. Evidently he told his coach I was the best he'd ever seen, even professionals. When they noticed me standing there, they asked if I would be interested."

"But they cancelled the World Cup," Hermione said. "So you quit your job for something that isn't going to happen for another four years?"

"Actually, Kingsley has been working with the other Ministries around the world and they're going to hold it in December this year. Australia is going to host it. Even if England doesn't make it, I thought it would have been enough time that we could go get your parents, Mi."

"Personally I think it's wicked cool," James said.

He'd seen Harry play during pick up games on the full-sized pitch they had in the back garden and knew his son was talented. He hadn't seen an actual Quidditch match since he left school, but being able to travel around the world and watch his son play sounded like it would be a blast. He knew Hermione would be busy with work, but with Portkeys she would be able to join him as soon as she was done for the day. And if the games were on Fridays, they could spend the whole weekend exploring the different places.

"While I agree that it's _cool_ , there are things to consider," Hermione chimed in. "Like the fact that the next Wizengamot session starts in two weeks and you need to be there."

"I decided not to take up the Black family seat," Harry said firmly. "And before you fight me, Hermione, this is my choice. I already talked to Kingsley and he said it's my right to pass it on to any living Black relative. I went to Andromeda's before coming home and she is going to do it. She has more of a right to it than I do anyway."

James could tell Hermione was taking in everything Harry had told them. Through all the stories he had heard and how the two of them interacted, he knew Hermione was his son's compass more often than not. Harry valued her opinion and Hermione knew it. She always made sure she thought before she spoke to Harry.

"I'm glad to hear you thought things through, Harry. You're only eighteen and you can always be an Auror when your Quidditch career is over if you still want to." Hermione stood up and walked over to where Harry was sitting and wrapped him in a hug. "I'm really happy for you. Do you have to try out?"

"I feel like I just got my mum's permission," Harry teased, leaving his arm wrapped around Hermione. "I'll meet the rest of the team tomorrow. Evidently Oliver showed his coach Pensieve memories of my playing so I don't need to."

"Let me grab my cloak and we can go," James said, standing up.

"Go where?"

"To buy you a new broom, of course. They just released the Lightingbolt last week and I heard it's far better than the Firebolt II you have now."

"I think the team will provide me with a broom," Harry said.

"And you want the first time you try out a new broom to be in front of a bunch of people who have been playing professionally?" Hermione asked. "That doesn't seem smart. What if it has features you don't know how to use?"

"Do you always have to be the smart one?

"Yes, I do. Now let's go."

* * *

Hermione wandlessly sent her wet towel to the laundry and crawled into bed where James was already sitting against the headboard reading. He glanced up as she pulled the duvet back and looked her up and down, giving her a wolfish grin. Ever since their first time together, she had slept naked, and every night James gave her the same look. She moved towards him and propped her head on his chest.

"I had fun shopping with you and Harry today," she told him.

"You left us after five minutes in the Quidditch shop to go look for books," James said with a laugh.

"True, but we met back up. And you gave me a present."

James had purchased Hermione and himself custom England Quidditch jerseys with Potter on the back. He told her that he'd told the shopkeep it was because they were huge fans of the team. Hermione was looking forward to wearing it at Harry's first game. The finals were in Australia in December, but Harry would be travelling all of October and November for qualifying games as long as they kept winning.

Ginny had come over after they returned from Diagon Alley and Hermione wasn't sure her ears would ever recover from the screech of excitement her friend let out when Harry told her the news. James had presented Ginny with her own Potter jersey and Harry had blushed seeing his name on his girlfriend's back. James had slapped him on the back of the head and told him to get all those ideas out of his head until after Ginny had graduated.

James pressed a kiss to the top of her head, pulling her from her thoughts.

"I have another big present for you," James said. "But I have to wrap it inside you."

"No," Hermione said, clapping her hand over his mouth. "No woman will ever get turned on by that. Just… no, James."

James licked her hand and laughed when she pulled it away. His hands gripped her hips and pulled her to lay on top of his body. Warm lips found hers and she groaned as his tongue traced along her mouth. Stupid lines about his penis might not turn her on, but his kisses did. In a matter of moments, her hips were rocking, trying to find release against him. Shifting, she placed her legs on either side of his and moved her hand down to grasp his hard cock. Lifting up she rubbed him against her already wet core before placing the head at her entrance.

Their eyes met as she lowered herself onto him. It didn't matter how many times or different positions they'd had sex, every time Hermione felt like she had just come home. This was where they were meant to be. Together. Their purple magic no longer filled the air as their bodies connected but she could always feel their magic mixing and renewing with each thrust and each cry of pleasure.

"Fuck," James growled out. "You feel so fucking good, love."

Her heart skipped at his words. He called her _love_ all the time and had since day one. James used it when talking to all females, including Molly Weasley. But when he said it to Hermione while he was buried between her thighs, her heart clenched. She wasn't there yet, but every day they grew closer and she knew it was only a matter of time until she was completely in love with James.

"I need…" Hermione trailed off as he hit that perfect place deep inside her.

"What do you need?"

"You. On top."

James wrapped his arms around her before rolling them so she was pressed into the mattress. His arms were under her back and he gripped her shoulders, keeping them as close together as possible. Securing her legs around his hips, Hermione dug her heels into his arse, urging him to move inside of her. Her back arched as he began to move, taking him deeper than before.

"Yes, witch," James cried.

He began to move his hips, never pulling out of her, just keeping a steady rhythm that allowed every part of their bodies to move against each other. Shuttering as his lips found her neck, Hermione clenched around his dick.

"Fucking hell, Hermione. I want to stay buried in you forever. My perfect witch. Made just for me."

"James," Hermione breathed out, her voice weak. "So good."

Moving faster inside her, his soft kisses on her neck were replaced with sharp bites and the flick of his tongue. His breath was hot and heavy against her neck and she never wanted this moment to end even as her orgasm was building.

"I love you, witch," James whispered. "So fucking much."

His words pushed her over the edge and she cried out. Grunting as she tightened around him, James thrust three more times before his hips stilled and she felt his cock pulse as he came. Peppering her face, James spoke quietly to her.

"I know you're not there yet, and that's okay. But I had to tell you, Hermione. I love you. And I will love you if it takes you another month or even another decade to feel the same way about me."

Hermione laughed. "If it takes me a decade to figure out my feelings, there might be something wrong with me. Thank you for understanding that I'm still working on things."

"Anything for you, love."

"Looks like you just volunteered to go shopping for my new work clothes with me tomorrow."

"Anything but that. Besides, that is what you have Ginny for," James said. He untangled their limbs and rolled them onto their sides.

"I'm not sure I follow," Hermione admitted.

"It's the way of the Potters. The men keep our women sexully satisfied, we worship them, and use our excellent transfiguration skills to fix things. We also make sure the other men around us have beautiful women that will take ours shopping so we don't have to. It's a family tradition. Been passed down father to son for ages."

"Sounds like a tonne of Thestral shite to me, but I'm sure Ginny will be happy to go with me."

"While you're out, pick up an owl or two for us. I want to be able to send you naughty notes while you're at work."

"I thought you were going to start working with Fred and George at their shop coming up with new items. Can't you just use one of them?"

"I don't want Tweet and Twat knowing what I want to do to your _twat_ , love."

Hermione snorted.

"On that note, I'm going to bed." She turned and snuggled back into him before a thought crossed her mind. "Maybe we should give you a Marauders next gen name. You can be Twit."

* * *

Hermione sat in the window seat of her study. She had a book open but she couldn't concentrate on it. There was a large group of people over playing a pick-up Quidditch game out back but instead of watching them, Hermione was sulking. Ginny had been back at Hogwarts for two weeks, and Hermione missed her. Add that to the hectic fortnight of her new job and sitting on the Wizengamot and all she wanted to do was eat ice cream and forget about everything for a while.

When she was offered a seat in the high court she had grand ideas about passing new and life changing laws every other day. The truth was a lot less exciting. They had spent the entire time reversing some of the atrocious laws that had been passed the last few years, including the Muggleborn Registration Act. They needed to be removed from the books, but the fact was that the Aurors were no longer enforcing them so she thought they should just let them sit and work on other laws first.

And then there was her job. She knew going in that she was to going to be looking for laws that allowed discrimination to be legal, but she hadn't grasped just how many there were and how long they had been on the books. She had found one from 1872 that made it illegal for Muggleborns to own and operate shops in Hogsmeade and another that gave Purebloods carte blanche to 'discipline' their Muggleborn spouses anyway they wanted, up to and including confining them to their homes and even death. Even dating James made her his personal property.

James had held her while she cried and gently reminded her that at least they had the chance to change the laws. Some of the older generation was fighting the changes that were being made, but their voices were silenced by the younger ones that were ready to see the old ways end. Most of the family seats were held by people around their own age or who were ready to see change. Draco, Theo, Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass, Neville Longbottom, and Hannah Abbot all took their seats in absence of family who were willing or legally able. Arthur sat for the Weasleys as Bill took the Prewett seat. Kingsley's younger brother took his place and was as progressive as the Minister himself.

Initially hesitant to see how the Syltherins her age would act, Hermione had been pleased to see they were all ready to put the past behind them and start anew. In fact, Harry had become friends with both Theo and Draco who were two of the people over playing Quidditch. Pansy — much nicer than she had been now that she wasn't under her father's thumb — had offered to take Hermione out for a spa day. She wasn't sure whether to be pleased that Pansy was making an effort to befriend her or insulted that a spa day was necessary. The mind healer she still saw weekly told her that Pansy was making an effort and to accept the next time she asked.

Sighing, Hermione put her book down and stood up. Her birthday was in a week and James had told her they were going to some fancy place to celebrate. That meant she needed to go shopping. Again. Deciding to take the mind healer's advice about befriending people, she headed to the pitch. Pansy had planned on coming over later to watch the game. Seeing her new friend sitting on a blanket reading a book, Hermione approached her.

"Hello, Pansy," Hermione said as she stopped next to her. "I was wondering if you wanted to go shopping with me. James is taking me out for my birthday and I need an outfit.

"Really?" Pansy asked, jumping up to kiss the air on either side of Hermione's cheeks. "I didn't expect you to want to spend time with me. Daphne thought I may have offended you with the spa day invite."

"To be honest, I wasn't sure how to take it. I didn't know if you were insulting me or trying to be nice."

"Spa days are something I do with my girlfriends all the time. I should have realised that it is not something you were used to on account of being best friends with two boys. I doubt either one of them would be interested in a seaweed wrap."

"I'm not sure I am either, but I'm willing to try." Personally, Hermione thought a day of being wrapped in plants and covered in mud sounded horrible, but she was willing to try.

"No one here will miss us. Let's go. We could try Twilfitt and Tattings," Pansy said. "They sell fancier robes than Madam Malkin's."

"Oh," Hermione answered. "I was actually thinking we could go into Muggle London. I am more comfortable in a dress than I am in robes."

After Flooing into Gringotts so Pansy could exchange some money _just in case_ and transfiguring Pansy's robes to look like a dress, the two of them entered the Muggle world. Hermione watched in sympathy as Pansy's eyes screwed up in pain from the loud noise of the cars and busses on the road. Deciding to spare her friend the chaos of walking to the area of town she wanted, Hermione hailed a taxi. She was a little apprehensive of the Muggle driver, but Pansy conceded that it was better than being out on the street.

Hermione didn't think she would ever get sick of seeing a Pureblood's face when they walked into a department store for the first time. Turning in circles, Pansy's mouth hung open as she took in the selection at Marks and Spencer.

"Holy Salazar father of snakes, Hermione," Pansy said. "Muggles have so much variety."

Hermione laughed. "And just think, this is just one shop. There are thousands like this. We have small boutiques that specialise in all kinds of things too. Or different shops with different designers."

"I'm never wearing robes again. Ever."

The two of them spent the rest of the day shopping, finding a few things at Marks and Spencer before Hermione decided to show Pansy some of the shops on Bond Street. Pansy had admonished her for taking her to such a _pedestrian place_ like the department store after seeing the high end shops. Hermione was holding an aubergine wrap dress that fit her like a glove and was trying to figure out if she really wanted to spend that much money when Pansy came out of the fitting room in a deep red dress that had a slit up to her hip and was backless.

"Wow, Pansy," Hermione said. "That looks amazing on you."

"You don't think it's too much?" Pansy asked, twisting her body to see herself in the mirror.

"Depends on what you're wearing it for."

"That war orphan's charity gala that Narcissa is throwing in two weeks. There… well, there is someone that I have my eye on and I just found out he'll be there. I want to get his attention. Or an invitation to his bed."

Hermione giggled at the shocked look of the old lady that had just walked by. "I think you'll catch everyone's attention. Who is he?"

"Charlie Weasley."

"Really?"

As Pansy got changed back into her clothes she told Hermione all about meeting Charlie in Hogsmeade right before he entered the fighting in the Final Battle. She had left the school with the rest of her house, but her father had stopped her from returning home, wanting her to fight with the Death Eaters. He said she needed to _kill the mudblood filth_ to avenge her brother who had been killed that evening by her own father after he refused to become a Death Eater. She let her parents run ahead, but didn't join them. Learning that her brother had been killed made her realise the war was pointless. Peter had been a Pureblood and was killed for no reason.

She had been crying on a bench when Fenrir Greyback appeared. He smelled of blood, filth, and sex and Pansy recoiled. It didn't matter to him which side she was on, he just wanted to touch and taste _young flesh._ Seeing her struggle, Charlie had helped pull Fenrir Greyback away from her before killing the beast with a slicing hex to his neck. Charlie had then stopped to heal the two fingers that she'd broken in her attempts to save herself before leaving to lead the townspeople into battle.

"I've wanted him ever since," Pansy said. "But I don't think he'd go for me so I'll settle for a dance at the gala."

"Well, I never thought I'd enjoy spending the day with you, and yet here we are," Hermione told her. "You're a lot nicer than you were at school."

They finished their shopping and went their separate ways. They already had plans to meet up with Daphne the following week so Hermione could get their help with her hair before her birthday dinner. As she stood in the shower later that night she made a mental note to talk to Ginny and Pansy about becoming penpals. She had enjoyed spending the day with her new friend and had a feeling her and Ginny would get on well. And Maybe Ginny could give Pansy some tips on getting Charlie's attention.

She was just about to turn off the water when the shower door opened and James stepped in behind her. He kissed her neck and she leaned back into him before stepping away.

"You smell foul, James," Hermione exclaimed.

"That's my man smell, love," James said seriously. "Shows that I sweat and did manly things. Like score a few goals against a professional Keeper."

"Well you smell like a Thestral's ball sack. But congratulations on your goals."

James laughed as he lathered himself up and washed the stink away. As soon as he was clean, he sat on the bench in the back of the shower and pulled her to sit across his lap. Kissing her forehead, he ran his hand up her thigh.

"Feel like giving me a present for being so talented? I bet I could put something through your goal post."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You need to stop with the sex jokes. They're just… horrible."

"Is that a _no_ then?" He rubbed his fingers over her pussy lips.

"It's a yes, but only if you stop talking."

James snapped his mouth shut and grinned at her before leaning down to kiss her. He may be a goofball, but at least he was a good listener.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you thought!


	12. Chapter 12

"James is going to eat you instead of dinner," Pansy said, looking Hermione up and down. "You look delicious."

"Thanks, Pansy," Hermione replies. "And thank you, Daphne, for letting me borrow your shoes. I had no idea that magical heels were charmed to be so comfortable."

Hermione had spent the morning and afternoon of her birthday at the spa with Pansy and Daphne before they returned home with her. Setting up shop in her old room, the two girls had proceeded to do her hair and makeup using charms Hermione had never heard of. They had explained they were old Rosier family secrets that their mothers had taught to them. Until that moment, Hermione hadn't realised the two girls were first cousins.

"We have a present for you," Daphne said. "Well three presents, actually."

"You didn't need to get me anything."

"Don't be stupid," Pansy cut in. "Of course we did. But Daph said you'd hate it if we spent a lot of money. Congratulations; you're the first person to get a gift from me that cost under two Galleons. And I went in on it with Daph like a commoner."

"What Pansy means," Daphne said, bumping Pansy with her hip, "is Happy Birthday, Hermione."

Taking the proffered bag, Hermione sat on the bed and opened it. There were three packages that looked like books inside and she took one out. Carefully unwrapping the first one, she stared at a battered copy of an old tome and looked up at the girls in shock.

 _Secrets of the Elegant Arts_ by Elizabeth Rosier

"Everything we did today comes from spells in that book," Pansy explained. "You might not be a Rosier, but James' mother was one. Since one day you two will marry, we figured you could have it now. If you ever have a girl, you can pass it down to her."

"Thank you. So much, you two. Really."

Hermione cleared her throat. The fact that they had gifted her a book of pureblood family secrets made it really sink in that they had changed their thinking. Unwrapping the second book she grinned. It was a book on how to plan the perfect pureblood wedding in five hundred easy steps. As soon as Harry let slip at Theo's pub that James and Hermione were soulmates, Pansy and Daphne had been begging her to start planning their wedding.

"For when you're ready," Pansy teased. "Like tomorrow."

"Or in a few years," Hermione said, setting the book down.

The third package was thinner than the other two and Hermione unwrapped it to see that it actually contained two composition notebooks. They looked identical to the ones that were required to be used by all Hogwarts students. She opened them but they were blank inside.

"They're charmed," Daphne explained. "We thought you could send one to Ginny and then the two of you could talk without having to wait for an owl. Astoria and I have them and they are really handy. Plus, teachers just think you're taking notes."

Hermione stood up and walked over to her two friends, wrapping her arms around them. When they stiffened, she reminded them that Gryffindors hugged a lot and they better get used to it if they wanted to hang out with her. Pansy made a comment wondering if the Lions were this touchy in bed which made Daphne blush and laugh and Hermione wonder if maybe Daphne had her eye on someone from her House as well.

"Anything you'd like to share with the class, Daph?" Hermione asked.

"No," Pansy answered for her. "But she wouldn't mind if those Weasely twins wanted to share her."

"Pansy!" Daphne cried before hiding her face in her hands.

"You know," Hermione said, "Fred and George spend a lot of time here. Maybe I need to plan something so you can get to know them better."

"Enough about Daphne's kinky sex fantasies," Pansy said. "It's time for us to get going so you and James can go out. Have a great time, Hermione. Don't forget brunch at Theo's tomorrow."

"Have fun, Hermione," Daphne added. "I can't wait to hear all about it."

"Thank you both. For everything." Hermione hugged them again before ushering them out of her room.

* * *

"I don't think I have ever seen a woman as beautiful as you are, Hermione," James said, pulling her into his arms. "I must remember to send the Fates a thank you gift for choosing you as my soulmate."

"Thank you," she said, stepping back and hating the blush that she could feel spreading across her face. "You look very handsome. Where are we headed?"

James had been very tight-lipped about the plans he'd made for her birthday. She had tried to get the details out of Harry, but he told her that he had no idea. Noticing that he was in a Muggle suit, she wondered if he'd made reservations in London. Normally if they were going somewhere nicer in the wizarding world James would wear robes instead of the jeans he preferred.

"You'll find out when we get there." He held out a small Royal Guard keychain towards her. "Whenever you're ready."

Hermione stroked her finger over the guard's fuzzy hat. "We need a Portkey?"

"Yes. No more questions, love."

Stumbling as she landed, Hermione steadied herself in James' arms before opening her eyes. Nothing looked familiar to her so she turned around and noticed a street name on a plaque on the building nearby. Walking closer, her eyes went wide as she took in the familiar blue sign, outlined in green; its white letters reading Rue de Grenelle.

"We're in Paris?" Hermione asked.

"Harry said you loved your trip to France a few years back," James said, scratching the back of his neck in the tell-tale Potter way that told her he was embarrassed. "We have a reservation at some fancy place. Hopefully you speak French because I don't."

"How did you make the reservation?"

"I asked Fleur for help," he admitted. "She contacted a friend that works for the The Ministère des Affaires Magiques de la France."

Hermione cringed as James murdered the pronunciation. "Please, let me do the talking. The Parisians will kick us out if they hear you butchering their language."

"We can't have that. We're staying here tonight. Some invalid hotel."

"It's on-val-eed, not in-va-lid."

"If you say so," James said with a laugh. "I'm pants at languages."

As they walked towards the restaurant, Hermione told James about learning French as a child from her mum whose parents had been born in France before immigrating to England after World War II. Hermione about tripped when James casually mentioned that he hoped their children would get her gift of tongues. She'd thought about their futures and children, but she hadn't been aware that he had.

Dinner had been amazing and Hermione loved that James had trusted her enough to order for them. He pulled a face when he saw the snails, but after trying them decided escargot was better than he had expected. As they walked towards the hotel Fleur had booked for them he admitted that as nice as dinner had been he liked the onion soup best — even if he couldn't figure out how to eat it without using his hands.

After checking them into the hotel, Hermione stepped out onto the balcony that overlooked Les Invalides and the Seine in the background. Paris at night was nothing short of breathtaking and she wished they had more than just one night to explore the city. She had come here a few times and loved it more and more with each visit.

"Absolutely breathtaking," James said from behind her.

Hermione turned around to see what he was looking at but his eyes were on her and not the city. Heat coursed through her body at the look he was giving her. He walked towards her and took her in his arms, dropping a kiss to the top of her head.

"You know, it really isn't fair to you," he whispered.

"What isn't fair?" Hermione asked nonplussed.

"That it's your birthday yet I'm the one that gets to do the unwrapping today. I've wanted to untie your dress from the moment I saw you." He turned her in his arms and moved them so her stomach was pressed into the balcony railing. "So fucking sexy."

Pushing her hips back into him, Hermione moaned as one of his hands grabbed her arse. He pulled the back of her dress up and ran his hand over her upper thigh before moving her thong to the side and letting his finger trace over her dampening slit.

"James," she protested. "We're outside."

"I know," he said, dipping his finger into her and groaning. "You're so wet, love. I want you. Here."

"We'll get caught."

"Tell me you don't want to and I'll stop."

Hermione warred internally for a few seconds but said nothing. They were high enough up that no one would see them. James growled in her ear as she shifted her legs apart, giving him the room he'd need. She heard his zipper as he lowered it and her knees began to shake with the anticipation of him entering her. Jumping as the soft skin on his cock came into contact with her arse, Hermione sighed as James kissed her neck. She'd been expecting him to thrust into her, take her hard and fast, but his hips were slow as he buried himself inside her. They didn't speak as they made love on the balcony. They communicated with their bodies; her wetness, his hardness, and the way his lips lavished her neck with kisses.

A deep, quiet yet powerful, orgasm rolled through her body as she felt James empty himself within her. As his arms wrapped around her, Hermione felt tears start to roll down her face. A single tear dripped from her cheek and landed on James' arms. He turned her so she was facing him and his hand came up to wipe her tears away.

"You okay, love?" he asked gently, his eyes searching her face.

"Yeah," she said. "Just realised how much I love you and it was a little overwhelming."

A huge smile broke out on his face.

"You love me?"

"I do."

It had been a month since James had first said it to her and while he told her at least once a day, he had never pressured her to say it back to him. She had known her feelings were growing for him every day, but for some reason, she could never bring herself to say it. Until now.

"Well if I'd known all it would take for you to tell me was fancy food and outdoor fucking, I would have done this weeks ago," James teased her, lightening the heavy mood. "Come on, birthday girl. Let's go inside so I can unwrap you."

* * *

Hermione landed back at Potter Manor and dropped her bag and the international Portkey to the ground before Apparating to the back garden and transforming into Snow. She was too angry to be trusted with a wand at the moment and needed to burn off some steam. Sniffing deeply, she followed her nose towards the coast that was only a few miles away.

 _Fucking James Potter!_ she thought as she began to run.

They had just spent a wonderful weekend in Santorini after watching Harry catch the Snitch against the Greek National Quidditch team. Hermione had loved being in such a warm place and swimming in the Mediterranian, especially since it had been an unusually cold first week of November in England. Waking up in time to see the sunrise in the morning, they had walked along the beach before making slow love in their hotel room.

That is when everything went wrong. _Fucking wanker!_

Hermione had been seconds from coming, begging James not to stop, when he pulled out his wand and pointed it at her stomach, begging her to let him cast a fertilisation spell on her. A spell powerful enough to cancel out the contraceptive potion she had just taken in September. She stared at him, hoping he was joking when he asked her again.

" _Please, Hermione," he pleaded. "I want to fill you with my seed. I want to see you ripe with my child."_

She huffed in annoyance as she picked up the pace of her running. Where in the hell did he get off springing that on her during the middle of sex? Having children wasn't a spur of the moment decision. There were things to discuss, timelines to be considered. And who said ' _fill you with my seed'?_ This wasn't the nineteenth century, nor was she a garden to be planted at his will.

She had pushed him off of her, summoned all her things into her beaded bag, magicked her clothes on and activated the Portkey home before he'd known what had happened. There was no way she could be around him right now. Knobhead could find his own way home.

Six months. That is how long they'd been together. Six whole months. And he thought they were ready for children? They may be soulmates, but that didn't mean they had to start pumping out babies like they were newly married Weasleys. She reached the sandy beach that was where the Potter Estate and Shell Cottage met and sat down in the sand, breathing deeply. Just this morning she had been on the warm beach of Greece, happy as could be, and now she was on the freezing beach of Cornwall, angry and confused.

It was the same spot that she had sat and physically and mentally recovered in the days after her torture at Malfoy Manor. She had watched the waves roll onto the beach and as they made their way back to the ocean, she had let them carry her pain and suffering away. Sitting with Ron and Harry, she had told them about being held under Bellatrix's Crucio and how it felt when her knife cut her flesh. Each conversation was like lancing a boil. Painful but necessary for healing. If only she had someone to talk to now.

"Hermione?" a male voice called and she turned to see Bill Weasley walking towards her. At her yip, he moved closer and sat next to her. "Fred and George didn't tell me you were such a big wolf."

Hermione growled at him, showing her teeth before sticking her tongue out at him. Focusing on her human form, she transitioned back into her human form and leaned against Bill's side.

"Hey, Bill," she said, her voice rough.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked.

Bill conjured a blanket and wrapped it around their shoulders and created a small fire before them to help with the chill of the ocean breeze.

"About what?"

"About whatever it is that's bothering you."

"How can you tell?"

"I have six siblings, plus you and Harry. You don't think I can tell when one of you is upset? You have the look that says you need a shoulder."

Taking a deep breath, Hermione thought about what he had said. Her mother had always told her not to air her dirty laundry to people, but she needed someone to talk to. Harry was out of the question, Ron wasn't mature enough, and Ginny, Pansy, and Daphne would probably tell her that she was being silly and to get pregnant right away. Deciding that maybe Bill could help give her the opinion of a married man, she told him everything that had happened. He listened quietly, saying nothing as she relayed her relationship with James over the last six months. She told him about what had happened that morning as tears fell down her face. When she finished, he handed her a handkerchief to dry her eyes.

"Did you need someone to vent to or are you looking for advice?" he asked her.

"Both, please," she said.

This is why she had opened up to Bill. Anyone else would have told her what to do and interrupted her. Bill was a rare creature who would see what you needed and try to meet that need. Not for the first time she thought about how lucky she was to have the Weasleys as her family. There was always someone to go to when she needed something.

"I know you said you're not ready for children, and there is nothing wrong with that. You both need to be ready before you make that choice. You're a planner and James knows that before you have children you'll need to make lists and buy everything your child will need."

"Then why—"

"Because James is a man."

"You're telling me his Y chromosome is what made him do it? What a bunch of patriarchal bullshite."

"I have no idea what a chrome zone is," Bill admitted, "but there are some things that are built into men. Ginny calls it our inner caveman. Take me. I love Fleur and wasn't ready to have children before. But as soon as I knew I loved her, I wanted to fill her belly with children. It's instinctual. My brain was saying that it was too soon, but my caveman is yelling 'mate, mate, mate! Impregnate!'"

"And all men think this way?" Hermione asked, sceptically.

"I'm sure there are some who don't, but I think it's pretty common. James was probably focused on how much he loves you and how right you two are for each other that he wanted to see that love create new life."

"It makes him seem like less of an arse when you say it like that."

"Merlin knows I'm not the perfect husband, Hermione," Bill said. "I make mistakes and Fleur has wanted to hex me more than once. But I will tell you that running away isn't the answer to any problem. You need to go back and talk to James."

"You're right," she told him. "I know you are."

"But?"

"But I think I'm going to make him sweat it out for a few more minutes. This might not be Greece, but the beach is pretty nice."

"How did the match go?"

Hermione and Bill sat on the beach for a while as she told him all about the Quidditch match and how well Harry had played. The next game was to be played in Ireland, and she told him James had already booked a private suite so everyone could come and watch. Fleur came out and joined them and from the way she touched her stomach when she sat on Bill's other side, Hermione could tell her friend was expecting.

Deciding it had been long enough to keep James waiting, she sent her Patronus to him as Fleur told her all about how horrible the first trimester of pregnancy was. Evidently the werewolf gene in Bill didn't mix well with her Veela blood and she had to take potions to make sure the pregnancy stuck. When James arrived, he had a sheepish look on his face as he sat next to her. Bill and Fleur stood, promising to bring out hot cocoa in a few minutes.

"I'm so sorry, love," James told her, holding her hands. "I don't know what came over me."

"I talked to Bill," Hermione admitted. "He told me all about inner cavemen that just want to impregnate the women they love."

"Sounds about right. I promise I'm not ready to have another child or share you with anyone yet. You looked so beautiful this morning and I just let that side take over. I am truly sorry."

"I forgive you. Forgive me for running away instead of talking about it?"

"Of course I do. Even if my bollocks are sore."

They spent the rest of the day with Bill and Fleur and Hermione saw first hand how horrible morning sickness could be. James looked green and whispered to her that he'd forgotten about that part and was definitely not ready to see her like that anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter would not have happened without the help of LuxLouise and VesperSwan— thank you, loves!
> 
> Let me know what you thought!
> 
> Also, I've received a few comments asking me to name the chapters. Sorry to everyone that enjoys chapter names, but to be honest... Naming chapters is harder than writing a whole chapter for me. It causes stupid amounts of stress that I don't need, so I no longer name my chapters.


	13. Chapter 13

"Do you have everything you need?" James asked Hermione. "And everything I need too?"

"It's all in my bag, including the jerseys for my parents," Hermione said. "Hopefully this works so they can wear them."

It was a week before Christmas, and Hermione and James were leaving for Australia in a few hours. England had made the Quidditch World Cup — thanks to Oliver Wood's incredible Keeping abilities and the fact that Harry hadn't missed a Snitch yet. James had paid more than Hermione wanted to think about to secure the largest private box available and they intended to fill it up with Weasleys, their friends from the Wizengamot, and Hermione's parents.

Hermione had been surprised to find out that the Ministry shut down for the last two weeks of every year in order for their employees to spend the holidays with their families. She and James were planning on spending the entire time in Australia. Once they arrived, they would locate her parents in Sydney, hopefully reverse the memory charm she had placed on them, whisk them away to the isolated beachside campground the World Cup was being held at, and show them their first Quidditch match. They had both wanted to see one since the first time she wrote home about Harry catching the Snitch.

"Are you nervous?"

"A little," Hermione admitted. "As long as I did everything correctly, I should be able to sing the password and their memories should unblock."

"Aren't you afraid someone else will have sung it around them before?"

"No. It's keyed into my voice and magical signature. I didn't want anyone to accidentally trigger something. And we wanted to be sure that if I died they would never remember me."

"I still can't believe your parents went along with this plan of yours," James said.

"They didn't want to, but they're logical. They both knew that they couldn't stop me from going with Harry and that they weren't safe. _Better ignorant in Australia than dead in England_ , my dad said. Plus, they'd always wanted to go there and Dentists Worldwide needed professionals to travel among the remote villages."

"I can't wait to meet them. I hope they like me."

"My mum will think you're an elitist prat and my dad will make fun of you for not watching football, but other than that, I think they'll like you."

James moved closer to her and kissed her forehead. "I am a prat, and if your dad can watch Quidditch with me, I'll give football a try. Can't be that boring."

"You have no idea."

* * *

James held his stomach and tried not to vomit as their Portkey arrived at the Sydney branch of the Australian Ministry. Normally international visitors had to arrive and be processed through the main location in Canberra, but Kingsley had been nice enough to have arrangements for James and Hermione to arrive closer to her parent's location.

"Miss Granger? Mr Potter?" a male voice called and they turned to face him. "Hello, I'm Auror Smith. I just need to verify a few things then you can be on your way."

"Thank you, Auror Smith," James greeted the man. "What do you need?"

They went through a list of questions to prove their identity and allowed the Auror to scan them and their luggage for any Dark artefacts before being given a map of the magical enclaves located throughout the state of New South Wales. He also gave them the Portkey needed to transport them to the hidden island that lay between Melbourne and Tasmania that they could activate at the time of their choosing.

"Do you have any additional questions?" Auror Smith asked. At their negative responses, he walked them towards the exit. "I hope you enjoy your stay in Australia and good luck to your son in the match. I don't think Bolivia's Seeker stands a chance against him."

"I see we're in agreement," James said before they waved goodbye and walked out into the warm Australian sun.

They followed the directions Auror Smith had provided them to where he had located her parents living just a few streets away. Hermione had told him all about her parents being well to do so he was surprised when they walked past the large house to a small cottage located in the back garden. Why anyone with money would want to live in such a tiny place was beyond him.

Holding Hermione's hand, he watched as she took a deep breath before raising her hand and knocking on the front door. They waited as footsteps came closer and the door opened. The woman who had answered was clearly Hermione's mother. It was like looking at his girlfriend twenty-five years in the future.

"Hello," Mrs Granger said. "May I help you?"

"Yes," James answered. Hermione had asked him to talk first because she thought she'd be too nervous or say the wrong thing. "My girlfriend and I are here visiting from England on holiday and my mum said to stop by and say hi to you. She used to be a patient of yours."

"Who is your mum?"

"Jen Grant."

"Oh! Come in, come in. I'll make tea. You have to tell me all about your mum. She was a patient of ours from the beginning." She opened the door and waved for them to follow her. "Wendall, you'll never guess who's here."

"Who?" Hermione's dad called from further inside. "Better not be those knobheads trying to sell inflatable surfboards again."

"You remember Jen from back home? Her son is here with his girlfriend. I'm sorry," she said, stopping as they entered the kitchen where Wendall was sitting, "I didn't get your names."

"James and Hermione," James answered.

"Monica always loved that name. Wanted to name our daughter that if we ever had one."

James felt Hermione sway next to him and he squeezed her hand tightly. Looking at her, he saw she was a little green and looked faint. Moving to stand behind her, he wrapped her in his arms. Her mum asked if she wanted to sit down, but Hermione shook her head. James felt her take another deep breath before squaring her shoulders and clearing her throat. Her parents looked at her, expectant.

"Every sperm is sacred," she sang and James about let go of her.

_What in Merlin's name was she singing?_

"Every sperm is great. If a sperm is wasted, God gets quite irate."

The room was dead silent as she sang. Time seemed to stand still as Monica and Wendall stared at her. Hermione tensed in his arms. Fuck. What if it didn't work? Then they were two nutters singing about sperm to strangers in a foreign country.

Wendall cocked his head to the side before he started singing. "Let the heathen spill theirs on the dusty ground. God shall make them pay for each sperm that can't be found."

"Hermione?" Monica asked quietly. "Oh, my dear girl!"

James let Hermione go as her mum rushed forward and hugged her daughter. Wendall shook his head as if trying to get water from his ears before standing up and wrapping his wife and Hermione in his arms. Tears were falling down all of their faces and James smiled at the reunion. He still wasn't sure what in the hell Hermione and her dad had sung, but if it worked, that was all that mattered to him.

"Mum, Dad," Hermione said, pulling back slightly and waiving towards James. "This is James. James, these are my parents, Jean and Hugh Granger."

"You look just like her friend Harry," Hugh said. "Any relation?"

"It's a long story, but I'm his father," James answered.

"You aged well. Harry must be eighteen by now. Unless we've been gone for more than the year and a half we've been in Australia."

"You're correct. It's a long story, but I'm actually only twenty-one."

"Is it some mental story that involves magic, a time-turner, and a man killing snake or something?"

"Let's sit down and we'll tell you all about it, Dad," Hermione said. "We have a lot to catch up on."

* * *

"That went better than expected," Hermione said that night as they lay in bed.

After talking to her parents, who took the news of James' animated suspension, them being soulmates, and everything that happened in the war better than she had expected, they had gone out to dinner and now were in bed. The cottage didn't have a guest room, but she'd transfigured their sofa into a nice bed for her and James to share.

"I'm still not sure why you picked a song about sperm," James said, "but I'm glad it worked and everything seems to be fine."

"My dad loves Monty Python. It's a Muggle group that made television shows and films and such. When I was a kid, he watched them all the time. One of the films, The Meaning of Life, was his favourite. What I sang was one of the songs from it. I needed to pick a song that was meaningful to unlock their memories, and that's the one we chose."

"I thought they were going to kick us out at first."

"Me too. I was so scared I had messed up. But now I have my parents back."

Hermione had been terrified when her parents had just stared at her as she sang the password. She wasn't sure how long it would take for the memories to unlock, but the few seconds seemed to last a lifetime and she had been ready to run away and cry in James' arms until it was time to show her face at the World Cup. And then her dad started singing — horribly off-key — and her parents were back in her life, just like that.

They were both excited to attend the World Cup and the timing couldn't have been better because they were between projects with Dentist Worldwide and hadn't decided which area they wanted to travel to next. Hermione had loved hearing about their travels through the Outback to the remote villages over the last eighteen months. Her mum had fallen in love in every village, according to her dad, and never wanted to leave.

When she asked if they planned on returning to England like they had talked about before, they had given each other the married people look — the one that said words no one else knew — before they both said they would have to think about it. Hermione already knew from that one look that her holidays would now be spent in Australia.

"We should get some sleep, love," James said, moving to wrap around her. "We'll want to leave early tomorrow to see as much of the sights around the pitch as possible. Your dad already told me he can't wait to see a magical tent."

"He wouldn't think they were so magical if he had to live in one for as long as I did. At least it's a bigger one this time." James had pulled out the Potter family tent. A huge monstrosity that slept twenty and would be home to them and the Weasley's while they were in Australia.

"Bill promised to have everything set up before we got there and I sent him a Patronus to make sure they leave a room free for your parents."

* * *

Hermione held her mum's hair back as she emptied her stomach on the beach where they landed. Her parents had never travelled by Portkey before and both of them had not handled the spinning well. Vanishing the sick from the ground, Hermione cast a breath-freshening charm on her mum who looked at her and smiled.

"That was worse than that blasted spinning ride at the Blackpool Pier, Hermione," Hugh said, looking green.

"Not a fan of getting sick, but we seemed to have travelled a long way," Jean added, taking in the beach around them. "The beach is beautiful. How do you keep Muggles away?"

Hermione gave her parents a quick lesson on how to hide an island by using magic. When researching for the trip, Hermione had found out that the island they were currently on was the largest all-magical holiday spot in Australia, and second in the world only to Kneazle Island in the Caribbean. It was so large that it took an hour to fly from one side to the other on a broomstick.

Australia's National Quidditch team had its own stadium deep in the Outback that was full of carved red rock and decorated with Aboriginal artwork, but the ticket sales for this year's event had been so high the Ministry had decided to hold it on the island where they could house twice as many people. Harry hadn't been here long enough to send them a letter about the stadium, but Hermione hoped they had brought some of the artwork from the other one so she could see it.

They made their way towards the gaggle of redheads in swimming costumes that were applying sun blocking charms to their pale skin outside a large red and gold tent. Jean gasped as Charlie picked George up, tossed him over his shoulder and went running towards the shore, Fred laughing and chasing after them.

"Hermione!" Ginny called, spotting them. "It worked! You made it! I'm so happy she was able to reverse it! I was so worried."

Ginny came running towards them and wrapped Hermione in a hug before doing the same to Jean and Hugo. Ginny had come to Hermione's house a few times over the years and loved her parents as much as they loved her.

"Is everyone here?" James asked.

"The Slytherin's just arrived a few minutes ago. They're in the tent getting changed and then they'll join us. I'm on a mission to get Pansy and Charlie together this week. He's liked her since that gala but hasn't worked up the nerve to ask her out."

"I thought Charlie was the one who worked with dragons?" Hugh said. "Asking out a girl should be simple compared to that."

"Bill reckons its harder because dragons can't turn you down for sex."

"That's true," Jean said with a laugh. "Dragons either eat you or burn you to a crisp."

James showed her parents into the small tent that would house them, Molly and Arthur, and Bill and Fleur before he took Hermione to the larger tent that the younger people would be staying in. It greatly resembled Potter Manor, and they all changed into swimwear before making their way to the beach to join the others. Molly, and especially Arthur, were thrilled to 'have some other adults around' and pulled Hermione's parents towards the beach canopy that had more food and drinks than any of them could eat. James and Hermione followed Ginny towards the water's edge where she filled them in on the fact that Fred and George were sweet on Daphne and planning on making a move while on the island.

"As long as they make the move in her tent and not mine," James said. "Found out the hard way that the walls are thin and my parents are loud."

* * *

"It's time," James said to the crowd of people sitting around the large beach fire.

The group, all clad in matching Potter jerseys, extinguished the flames and followed the lanterns to the stadium. Hermione took his hand, and James looked around at the people they were going to share their box and tent with. Harry's fellow Gryffindors, Dean, Seamus, and Neville, were laughing loudly with Hannah and Blaise was giving Luna a look that clearly showed he was smitten with her. Draco and Theo were teasing Pansy and Daphne about making sure they had plenty of contraceptive potion. The Weasley's and Hugh were all talking animatedly about the upcoming match, except Fleur who was rubbing her pregnant belly and speaking rapid French with Herimione's mum.

They were a strange group, and James still missed his brothers and other friends fiercely, but he couldn't help but be grateful to the people he had in his life now. Molly and Arthur were like the parents he had needed since his own had died, and their children had welcomed him into the family as another sibling without hesitation. And the other young people they sat on the Wizengamot with were quickly becoming as important to him as the Weasleys.

"Are you nervous?" Hermione asked. "For Harry?"

"Not really. He's an excellent Seeker and England's Chasers are better than any I've ever seen."

"I just remember the injuries from when Viktor was in the World Cup and I would hate to have that happen to Harry."

"Now, what have I told you about mentioning your past lovers around me?

"To do it often because it gets you turned on knowing that they can't have me anymore?" Hermione teased him with a laugh.

"You have no idea, love," he whispered into her ear. "Plus, you know how much I love seeing my name on your back."

"How could I forget that inner caveman of yours?"

* * *

Hermione stepped out of the private lift to their box and shook her head at how extravagant it was. Two house-elves wearing Australia National Team jerseys greeted them with trays of drinks and motioned to the large buffet table to the side. There were tables set out on the platform that overlooked the pitch and Hermione was grateful for charms when Neville tripped and instead of falling off of it, bounced off the wards. One of the elves explained it was a one way ward so people didn't get injured or throw things at the players. Omnioculars were heaped in a large pile by the bar in the back next to programmes and rosettes of red and white with the English flag in the middle. Everyone put one on except Draco who was sporting an old ' _Potter Stinks'_ badge.

Her parents eyes were wide as they took in everything around them, from the magical advertisements to the beautiful pitch as Ron and Arthur went over the finer points of the game. The stadium appeared to be carved from red rock, and a line of white boulders marked the center of the pitch. It looked like a larger version of the pictures Hermione had seen of the Australia National Stadium. Between the breaks of the stands there were large banners of Aboriginal artwork that were breathtaking.

"They're not doing the national mascots this year," Charlie said to Bill. "Did want to bring dragons in, just in case. Plus, after all the trouble with the Ve–" he cut off at the sharp look from Fleur. "The pesky leprechauns from last time, they decided it would be better."

A loud noise tore through the air and the lights in the stadium changed so the pitch was illuminated. Hermione made her way to a table with James and held his hand as the Australian Minister welcomed everyone. A ripple of excitement went through the suite as the announcer for the game was introduced, but Hermione had no idea who the person was. The players for Bolivia were introduced and Hermione clapped politely for them.

"And introducing the English National Team," the announcer yelled, but Hermione only heard Oliver Wood's name over the cheering until, "And… Potter!"

Their suite went crazy as Harry was introduced. He followed his team in a circle around the pitch, waving as he passed them. Hermione wiped tears from her eyes and noticed Molly doing the same thing. _Great, I'm crying like I'm his mum._ James turned to her, his smile huge as he continued to yell and scream.

The game started and while Hermione knew she should be watching the Chasers, she kept her eyes on Harry and the Bolivian Seeker. She listened and cheered each time it was announced that Wood had blocked a goal, relieved that only a few got past him. Bolivia's Keeper was letting in more goals from what she could tell, but she didn't want to take her eyes off Harry to check the score.

Suddenly, Harry took off and seemed to be heading towards them. That's when Hermione noticed it. The Snitch, hovering just outside their suite. The two Seekers were neck and neck as they approached and Hermione had to fight to keep her eyes open. They looked like they were going to crash right into them. She watched as Harry's hand stretched out and snagged the Snitch before pulling up, hand in the air.

"England wins the World Cup! Potter has caught the Snitch!" the announcer yelled but Hermione hardly heard him over the screaming from the people around her.

Harry, Snitch still raised, stopped in front of their suite as his teammates flew into him. A bundle of brooms, arms and legs, surrounding him. Oliver Wood's face was wet as he almost tugged Harry from his broom. Harry looked over his shoulder at them before the team made their way to the top box directly across from the suite. Their group was still going crazy as Harry was handed the trophy and raised it above his head before handing it to Wood.

Jumping back on his broom, Harry flew across the pitch and landed in their suite. Everyone was screaming and jumping up and down, but Harry only had eyes for Ginny. Dropping his broom, he pulled her into a fierce kiss and handed her the Snitch. Ginny's mouth was open in shock as Harry spun her around.

"Marry me?" he asked, yelling loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Abso-fucking-lutely!" Ginny cried, before kissing him again.

Oliver flew into the suite and pulled Harry out to do the traditional victory lap. Molly and the rest of the women surrounded Ginny, but Hermione looked at James. He had a grin as large as Ginny's on his face as he met her eyes.

"I thought we would be the ones getting married first, but I guess my son wanted to beat us down the aisle," he said, wrapping his hands around her hips and pulling her close.

"Oh, are we getting married then?" she teased.

"As soon as you're ready, love."

"You do know you have to ask me right?"

"Oh, I was waiting for you to ask me."

"Not a chance, Potter."

* * *

_**A/N: And, that's all she wrote! I'll post an epilogue in the next week or two. Let me know what you thought!** _

_**Thank you to everyone that read and reviewed! Each one brings a huge smile to my face** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, that's all she wrote! I'll post an epilogue in the next week or two. Let me know what you thought!
> 
> Thank you to everyone that read, commented and left kudos! Each one brings a huge smile to my face


	14. Epilogue

**Sixteen years later**

"Go Sauntie, Gin!" Sirius Hugh Potter yelled.

"Go Bruncle, Harry!" Remus Arthur added.

"Beat Romania!" Johanna Elizabeth cheered, waving her English flag.

"I can't believe your children call them that," Jean added. "People are going to think you're inbred Americans."

Hermione laughed at her mother. The truth was, she'd tried to get her kids to stop calling Harry and Ginny bruncle and sauntie, but Fred and George had encouraged it since Sirius was a toddler and no matter what she said, the nicknames had stuck. The number of times she'd had to explain to people that the terms meant brother-uncle and sister-auntie was embarrassing. It wasn't like Harry and his wife Ginny were their aunt and uncle, but the children had been raised hearing all their Weasley 'cousins' calling them aunt and uncle and had been confused on how their brother was only four years younger than their dad.

James Sirius, Harry and Ginny's oldest had tried calling her children cuntie and cuncle — once again thanks to Tweet and Twat — but all it had taken was one powerful _Scourgify_ from Gramma Molly and that idea was nipped in the bud.

Hermione, James, and their three children were currently in a private box watching Harry and Ginny play for England in another World Cup, this time being held in Ghana. Ginny and Harry had married two weeks after she had graduated from Hogwarts and if Hermione didn't know any better, she would have sworn her son and daughter in law were soulmates. They were the happiest couple she knew, apart from her and James.

They all lived in Potter Manor because Ginny and Harry were both playing professional Quidditch and didn't see the point in paying for their own place when they were never home. When Ginny became pregnant with Jamie as he was called, Big James, already planning on staying home with Sirius — due just two weeks before Ginny — offered to start Potter Pals. His own daycare where he cared for his children and grandchildren all day while Hermione was at work and Harry and Ginny played. Lucky their teams allowed them to be home each night with their children unless they were travelling for a match.

Over the years, Hermione and Ginny had always managed to get pregnant at the same time and she blamed their husbands. Remus was three months younger than George Frederick— named after the twins thanks to a drunken Marauders' night out. Their youngest children, Jo and Lily Luna, were born the same day, within hours of each other.

And now, all six kids, raised like siblings, were between the ages of eleven and six and were thick as thieves. Hermione didn't know how she and James would have survived without the help of Molly, Arthur, her parents, and the rest of the Weasleys. She had always been told 'it takes a village' but looking around at their suite, she knew it was true.

And what a large village it was. Bill and Fleur had three children; Charlie and Pansy had shocked everyone and had five with a sixth on the way; Fred, George, and Daphne had two, but she was currently pregnant with twins; and Ron and Padma had four. Draco and Theo had been adopted as honourary Weasleys and had two girls, and Blaise and Luna were pregnant with their third. Sunday Roasts were held weekly at Potter Manor and was noisier than Hogwarts during the Welcome Feast.

Harry had made the England National team for the last four World Cups, but this would be his last one. At thirty-four, he felt he had broken his arms too many times. Ginny had played as lead Chaser for the last three World Cups and was also retiring after this game. They had both had taken jobs at Hogwarts and would be starting in a few weeks. Ginny would be the flying instructor and Harry was taking over as the Defence post. Because neither of them would be Heads of House, they would still be living at the Manor.

While Hermione was going to miss having Jamie and Sirius at home when they left for Hogwarts in the autumn, she was glad Harry and Ginny would be there to keep an eye on them. The boys were heading to school with the Invisibility Cloak and Marauders Map and Hermione already had weekly tea planned with Minerva to apologise for all the mischief they were going to get into. She had no doubt that the two of them were destined to be more trouble than all the Marauders combined.

Looking around the suite with her family all laughing, Hermione thought back through the years. She thought of the day she met James as an old Scottish man, their wedding day a year later where she made him wear that kilt to the ceremony, the birth of each of their children. They'd been together thirteen and a half years, and while they weren't all perfect or easy days, Hermione wouldn't have it any other way.

Life was loud, busy, and everything she had never known she'd wanted.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! I hope you all enjoyed it.
> 
> Also, the BIGGEST thank you to everyone on Ao3 who encouraged me for months to take this from a one-shot into a multi-chapter story. I really have the best, most supportive readers!
> 
> Interact with me on Tumblr (tridogmom)


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